


I'LL BE GOOD ▹ the vampire diaries

by fandomlover727



Category: The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: 17th Century, 21st Century, Adopted Children, Adoption, Age Difference, Alcohol, Angst, Anxiety, Bisexual Stefan Salvatore, Break Up, Canon LGBTQ Male Character, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Car Accidents, Character Death, Compulsion, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Dating, Doppelganger, Elena Gilbert Has a Twin, Episode: s01e19 Miss Mystic Falls, F/M, Falling In Love, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Secrets, Fanfiction, Fights, Flashbacks, Fluff, Forbidden Love, Gay Male Character, High School, Historical References, Human Elena Gilbert, Human Matt Donovan, Human Tyler Lockwood, Hurt Damon Salvatore, Hurt Stefan Salvatore, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Jealousy, Kissing, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, Long Lost/Secret Relatives, Love Triangles, Love at First Sight, M/M, Major Original Character(s), Minor Caroline Forbes/Damon Salvatore, Modern Era, Mystic Falls (Vampire Diaries), Mystic Grill, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Original Character(s), Other, Past Lives, Past Relationship(s), Possibly Unrequited Love, Protective Damon Salvatore, Protective Stefan Salvatore, References to Supernatural (TV), Reincarnation, Romance, Secrets, Supernatural Elements, Survivor Guilt, Teen Pregnancy, Teen Romance, Teenage Jeremy Gilbert, Teenagers, Twins, Underage Drinking, Underage Smoking, Vampires, Werewolves, Witch Bonnie Bennett, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-05-19 16:15:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 43,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19360393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomlover727/pseuds/fandomlover727
Summary: 𝐈'𝐋𝐋 𝐁𝐄 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃i never meant to starta fire, i never meant tomake you bleed.[ TVD SEASON ONE]





	1. PROLOUGE

**_PRE-SERIES: MAY 23, 2009_ **

Sam should've known that sneaking out to a party with his best friend would be a bad idea. Caroline Forbes, his best friend, and the Sheriff's daughter was good at persuasion and perfected the art of sneaking out. And besides, Sam rarely was able to say no to the blonde.

But at this party, the teenager got into a fight with his boyfriend Tate Lockwood which ended up with them splitting up. The golden-couple of Mystic Falls were now over.

You see, Sam and Tate had been best friends since they were in diapers. Sam was the curious one who always liked exploring while Tate was a bit shy and usually followed Sam around like a lost puppy.

Sometime in their freshman year, the two both had mutual feelings for each other and started dating. Both boys were respected by their community. Tate's dad was the mayor of the town and was also one of the star football players on their team. Sam's father was a highly respected doctor in Mystic Falls and Sam was also on the football team. They appeared to be a perfect match.

But it wasn't as it all seemed. Both boys did love each other, there was no lie in that. But both boys had different ideas of the future. Sam knew it was an extremely bad idea to keep it going, both for his own wellbeing, but mostly for Tate's. He broke up with his boyfriend of over a year, the emotions were running high in both boys who were some of the few actually sober at the party.

Sam ended up calling his parents to come to pick him up. They were understandably upset but weren't just going to let some drunk teen drive him home, so they agreed to go get him.

Sam made his way to his friends Caroline and Bonnie to say goodbye. "Stay safe Sammy" Caroline slurred before hugging the boy tightly. Bonnie, Sam's sober friend, turned to him. "Are you going to be okay after everything?" The girl worried. "I'll be fine, Bon. I promise" He lied, clearly heartbroken despite being the one who initiated the breakup.

Bonnie promised to make sure that both she and Caroline would get home safely before hugging Sam goodbye.

As the whiskey-eyed boy walked further and further away from the party, he spoke with his non-identical twin sister.

_"I shouldn't have come to this party, Lena. I broke up with Tate, mom and dad are so angry with me for sneaking out" Sam ranted._

Unknowing to him, a certain blue-eyed vampire had overheard the familiar voice and followed it almost like he was in a trance.

_"Everything will be okay soon, Sammy. Mom and Dad already left and are on their way. Love you, be careful"._

Despite not being anywhere near her brother, Elena knew that a small smile appeared on his face over her words.

" _Thank you, love you too Lena!"_

When Sam hung up his phone, a ' _woosh_ ' sound buzzed slightly in his ear. "Emmett" Sam turned around in confusion. He saw a face that he subconsciously recognized, but he just couldn't figure out where he had seen the man.

He was around the exact same height as Sam. He had raven-colored hair and contrasting icy-blue eyes that Sam thought had to be fake due to how perfect they looked. The man also wore a leather jacket, something that screamed to him, 'typical bad boy'.

"Uh...no. You have the wrong person, I'm Sam" The once hopeful look shining in those blue eyes diminished which made his eyes look a bit dull. "Oh, you just look...." The stranger composed himself, hiding his emotions as best as he could try and do. "You just really remind me of someone. I'm Damon" He introduced. "Well, Damon, it's really creepy that you're just randomly out here, middle of nowhere" Sam judged, knowing that he couldn't have been there for the party seeing as he looked in his early twenties.

"You're one to talk, you're out here all by yourself" Sam rose his eyebrows, creeped out by Damon's words. "Yeah, but I came from a party and I'm waiting for my ride to show up. And since you don't look like a high school student, I'm gonna guess you're not from the party. And besides, I'm on the football team. I can take care of myself" Damon chuckled, thinking Sam's attempt at trying to prove that he could take care of himself was cute.

"You're very feisty, Sam" Damon walked a bit closer. "Well considering I just dumped my boyfriend, I had to call my parents to come to get me even though I snuck out, and I'm literally talking to a stranger who could easily kill me; I think I'm a bit entitled to be feisty" Sam face slightly flushed in embarrassment after he snapped at Damon.

"You broke up with your boyfriend? What about?" Something in his subconscious was making him feel that Damon was trustworthy, that it was okay to tell him despite the fact that he was literally a stranger.

"He's got our futures all mapped out, our jobs, our lives together. It just doesn't feel right, like I can't see myself with him in the future" Sam chuckled sadly, shaking his head. "And I'm talking to a random stranger about my love life".

"You remind me of someone I used to know. Headstrong, stubborn, and compassionate" Damon was moving closer and closer as he spoke. "You deserve something great, someone great" Damon smiled sincerely. Maybe it was because he was a spinning image of Emmett, or maybe it was because he felt for the teenager, but he was being truthful when he said that he deserved great things.

"You deserve everything you want in life" Damon then went to compel him. "You will forget about this conversation" Damon then vanished when Sam's parents came over with their car, Sam forgetting about everything, walked over to the car. His mother jumped out and hugged him tightly in relief.

"We were so worried when you called, I'm so happy that you're okay" Miranda put her hand on her sons cheek softly, making tears brim Sam's eyes. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have—" Sam's father Grayson cut him off. "Actually, you're right on time for your teenaged rebellion, kid" Sam still felt bad for putting his parents through that. He knew how they worried so much when Elena or Jeremy snuck out, he should've known.

"We won't ground you for that long, considering this is the first time. But don't think we won't if this happens again" Sam nodded, getting in the car with his parents.

As Grayson drove, Miranda spoke with her son. "We'll ground you for two weeks. You have to come straight home after school, no going to the grill, and no electronics except for the television" Sam nodded, too tired and emotionally drained to argue.

Sam closed his eyes, leaning against the door to rest. "—look out!" He heard his mother yell. He opened his eyes to see the car swerve off the bridge and submerge into the water. Sam hit his head on the door, knocking him out.

***

"Samuel—" Sam woke up to a bright light shining in his face. The teenage boy groaned in pain, rubbing his eyes before they adjusted to the light. When Sam's eyes finally adjusted, he went into a panic when he realized he was in a hospital room. "Samuel, my name is Doctor Eden. Do you remember getting into a car accident?" Sam nodded, briefly remembered the car swerving.

"Where're my parents?" The doctor looked at him sadly, making Sam realize what she really meant. They were dead and they weren't coming back. "No—" Sam held back sobs from escaping his lips. "Your siblings are outside waiting, do you want me to bring them in?" Sam nodded. Dr. Eden left, his twin sister Elena and his younger brother Jeremy entered the room.

"Sam!" The three siblings hugged, all sobbing as they clung to each other. They had all become orphans on the same day, Elena and Jeremy were just glad Sam had been able to escape somehow. They could barely keep themselves together after their parents died, neither could imagine what would have happened if Sam had died alongside them.

What nobody knew was that a vampire by the name of Stefan Salvatore pulled Sam out of the car, Grayson Gilbert was the only conscious one and demanded Stefan get to Sam before him(as he knew his wife died on impact). Stefan saved Sam, only to find he looked just like his past lover Emmett Pierce and his twin sister looks just like his past lover's twin sister Katherine Pierce.

 


	2. ONE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the start of his junior year. After dealing with the loss of his parents all summer, Sam is ready for something good to finally happen. This comes in the form of a new student, Stefan Salvatore.

GILBERT RESIDENTS:

One summer wasn't enough for anyone to grieve, let alone a survivor of a deadly car accident that occurred with his parents. He blamed himself for what happened. After all, they were picking him up from a party that he snuck out for. No matter how many times everyone around him reassured him that nobody was to blame, Samuel 'Sam' Gilbert didn't listen.

Sam and his siblings all took different routes in coping. Sam's sister Elena wrote in her diary and Sam's brother Jeremy started doing drugs and other reckless things. Sam, on the other hand, often drew when he was consumed too much of his survivor's guilt.

But school was officially starting, Sam gets to experience the first day of his Junior year. This was his first time where his parents weren't here to calm his anxiety and reassure him that school was going to be good that year. That they would be there to help him. It was all on him. Nobody else really knew how to deal with an anxious Sam except for Caroline, Elena, and Bonnie. And even then they struggled.

Sam tried to shake off his somber mood by focusing on getting ready. As he finished by putting on his flannel, he laid his eyes on the only picture he kept in his room that had his parents in it. It was of ten-year-old Sam and Elena, eight-year-old Jeremy, and their bright and youthful parents when the five were at the cabin. The smile on little Sam's face was completely foreign now, a genuine smile hadn't been seen from him since before the crash.

The sixteen-year-old boy inhaled sharply so he wouldn't cry, grabbing his black backpack and running his fingers through his hair nervously. Sam then heard a knock on his bedroom door, he knew it was Elena checking up on him. "Sam, you ready?" Sam sighed once more before composing himself. "Yeah!" He yelled back, opening the door to see Elena.

"Hey, you doing okay?" Her expression and tone were laced with concern. "I'm fine, Lena. Are you okay?" Elena only smiled in response before the two made their way downstairs where their newly appointed legal guardian Jenna, their aunt, was trying to get things ready for their first day.

"Toast, I can make toast" Jenna muttered to herself as the two entered. "It's all about the coffee, Aunt Jenna" Elena said, going straight to the coffee machine while Sam side-hugged his aunt who kissed his forehead affectionately. "Is there coffee?" Jeremy questioned, walking into the kitchen wearing all black.

"It's your first day of school and I'm totally unprepared. Lunch money?" Jenna offered. While the twins declined the offer, Jeremy took a $20 but not for food. "Anything else? A number two pencil? What am I missing?" Jenna worried, completely forgetting about herself. "You have a presentation today" Jenna's eyes widened. "I'm meeting with my thesis advisor at...now. Crap!"

"Then go, we'll be fine" Jenna looked at the three hesitantly but left so she wouldn't be even later. "Are you okay?" Elena turned towards the youngest Gilbert sibling who just scoffed. "Don't start" He spat, leaving for school. "Sam—" He cut his sister off. "I'm fine Elena, I promise. Care's picking me up" Sam hugged his sister before leaving.

MYSTIC FALLS HIGH SCHOOL:

Caroline Forbes refused to leave Sam's side and have him fend for himself. The two walked in front of the school entrance doors with their arms linked together. Caroline, noticing her best friends hesitance, unlinked their arms and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Are you sure you wanna go inside? I can fake call us in sick, I'm totally down for watching Supernatural reruns all day instead" Caroline offered. "No, I'm okay. I'll have to do this eventually, might as well do it now" Caroline smiled brightly, pulling Sam into a quick hug before linking their arms once more.

"You got this. Channel your inner Dean Winchester" She coached. "I will, jerk" Caroline laughed knowing she was more of the Dean while Sam was literally Sam Winchester. "Bitch" The two walked confidently into the building.

Mystic Falls is a small town, everyone knew everyone. The entire town was devastated by the deaths of Grayson Gilbert and Miranda Sommers-Gilbert and everyone was worried about how the golden boy of the school was taking it. Rumors spread after the entire school found out that Sam had broken up with Tate and quit the football team. Luckily for him, Caroline threatened them and shut down all rumors from circulating. But that doesn't mean people stopped thinking it.

Sam immediately froze when all eyes flew over to him. Caroline shot glares at everyone, making them go back to what they were doing. "Don't frown, Sammy. Someone could be falling in love with your smile" She quoted after noticing his frown. Sam straightened his posture before plastering on a fake smile.

As they walked, Sam's eyes landed straight on the new student Caroline had told him about. He was definitely attractive. Forest green eyes, strong bone structure, brown hair that was jelled up, wearing a leather jacket which added to the 'mystery guy' and 'bad boy' aesthetic.

When Stefan's eyes met with his own whiskey colored ones, Sam's face flushed with embarrassment. But something in Stefan's eyes seemed familiar like he knew him. A feeling of love and adoration flooded through him, internally freaking Sam out considering he never met the guy. Sam tried composing himself and kept walking with Caroline, leaving behind the familiar mystery guy.

HISTORY CLASS:

"Once our home state of Virginia joined the confederacy in 1861, it created a tremendous amount of tension within the state. People in Virginia's northwest region had different ideas than those from the traditional deep south. Then Virginia divided in 1863 with the northwest region joining the union...." Sam's history teacher Mr. Tanner blabbed on, Sam couldn't focus on the boring way that his teacher/coach taught. All he could think about was his parents, how this was the first school year without them. How he couldn't run straight home after school and rant to his mother about how annoying and easy his classes were or to his dad on how he constantly got into trouble for correcting his teachers.

Sam's phone buzzes, catching his attention. He snuck it open to see a text from Bonnie, his other friend. " _Hot guy staring @ u. It's kinda weird"_ Sam turned to see that the new guy was staring at him, Sam's face flushed a light pink, making the stranger smile.

CEMETERY:

Sam knew it was unhealthy, but it felt comforting to him. He sat at his parents' graves, sketching. It felt like he was on autopilot like he couldn't control or do anything. He looked down to see some kind of crest drawing, like a family symbol of some sorts.

       

"What..." Sam was distracted when a crow landed on his mom's headstone. "Uh, hi?" Sam squeaked slightly, being afraid of birds. The crow just stared dead into Sam's eyes, almost in recognition. "Shoo!" Sam made the bird fly away, sighing in relief when it did.

As Sam went to sit down, the fog started coasting the graveyard like a shitty horror movie. "Ah, hell. I'm not gonna be the first minute of supernatural" Sam mumbled to himself, getting up and trying to see through the fog to know where he could escape through. When he spotted a silhouette of a male, his eyes widened, dropping the sketchbook and started running.

As he ran, he didn't realize he was running down a hill and tripped, stumbling and accidentally hurdling into a rock. As he tried to scramble to get up, a hand was offered to him.

Sam took the hand hesitantly, getting pulled up to find his new classmate in front of him. "Uh, thanks" Sam mumbled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck as a habit.

"Are you okay?" The phrase Sam had been hearing since his parents died, the answer he gave was always a lie. "I'm fine" Sam observed his surroundings, looking for the figure that he had seen before giving up and looking back at Stefan.

"I'm Stefan" The teenager wearing a leather jacket introduced. "I know" His face flushed when he blurted his words out loud. "I mean—because you're a new student and..." Sam cut himself off. "I'm Sam" He finished.

"I know, we have history class together" Stefan brought up, making Sam smile. "And AP Lit and Latin" Stefan chuckled before pulling a leaf out of Sam's hair.

"Did you hurt yourself?" Stefan, unknowingly to Sam, smelt fresh blood. "—uh" Sam pulled up his pant leg to find a wound. "Yeah, I guess I..." When Sam turned around, Stefan was gone. "What the hell?"

_"I lost control today. Everything I've kept buried inside came rushing to the surface. I'm simply not able to resist him"._

MYSTIC GRILL:

Bonnie, Caroline, and Elena entered the grill together. Sam was supposed to meet up with them in a bit. "His name is Stefan Salvatore. He lives with uncle up at the old Salvatore Boarding House. He hasn't lived here since he was a kid. Military family, so they moved around a lot. He's a Gemini, and his favorite color is blue" Caroline gossiped to the two females, slightly wishing Sam was there to make them complete.

"You got all of that in one day?" Bonnie asked in shock, Elena too. "Oh, please, I got all that between third and fourth period. I'm planning Sam and Stefan a June wedding. Preferably on his birthday".

GILBERT RESIDENCE:

After Jenna helped to patch him up, Sam changed out of the slightly bloody pants and into a new pair of jeans, grabbing a flannel to go with his t-shirt to keep him warm.

"Have fun, but not too much fun. It's a school night, so make sure you get your sister home at a reasonable hour. Oh, and if Jeremy's there, tell him he's in trouble" Sam smiled at the authority-sounding voice Jenna was using. He was extremely grateful for his young aunt picking up the parental figure role for the three siblings. Despite losing her big sister and brother-in-law, Jenna hid her grief as best as she could to care for the three.

"I love you" Sam threw Jenna off guard by hugging her. "Love you too" Jenna left to go work on her college homework while Sam went to put on his old converse his father bought him for his birthday, despite his mother's instance that they bought him nicer shoes instead.

Smiling sadly at the memory, Sam opened the front door only to find Stefan Salvatore at the doorstep about to knock. "Uh, sorry. I was about to knock" Stefan smiled sheepishly.

"Hi?" Sam tilted his head slightly in confusion. "How's your leg?" Stefan asked. "Fine now, mostly just a scratch" Sam explained. "I'm sorry for disappearing like that, I don't like blood" Sam nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, I get it. Blood makes you squeamish" Sam then realized something. "How did you know where I live?" He was slightly panicked. "I found your sketchbook and wanted to give it to you, I asked a blonde girl who eagerly pointed where you lived" Stefan handed the sketchbook back.

"Thank you, I thought I wouldn't get it back" Sam admired, before getting an idea. "I was about to go to The Grill, it's a popular hangout, one of the only teen hangouts in this town. Do you wanna come with?" Sam held back his blush as much as he could. "I would love to".

MYSTIC GRILL:

Bonnie was approached by Sam's ex-boyfriend Tate. "Oh no," She mumbled to herself slightly, realizing he was gonna ask about Sam. "How's Sam?" Bonnie sighed.

"He's doing alright, but it's only been four months Tate. He's healing, after all, he was in the car" Tate nodded, missing his ex-boyfriend. "Why don't you just talk to Sam? You guys were friends before you dated, I'm sure he wants you to talk to him" Bonnie advised. "I feel weird, he broke up with me" Tate admitted.

"Just give him time to heal, maybe something will happen?" Just as Bonnie finished that sentence, Sam and Stefan walked into The Grill together. "Give it more time?" Tate looked like a kicked puppy, meeting eyes with Sam before looking for his brother Tyler.

Stefan, Sam, Caroline, Bonnie, and Elena all sat around a table together. Sam didn't have to be physic to know the three girls were gonna try and set him up with Stefan, Caroline and Elena had been hinting at it since history class. Bonnie, on the other hand, kept reminding Sam that he didn't need a man to be happy.

"So, you were born in Mystic Falls" Caroline started her investigation on the new kid. "Mm-hmm. And moved away when I was still young" Stefan semi-lied about when he moved away.

"Parents?" Bonnie brought up, curious about what his story was. Caroline's parents split up after her dad came out as Gay, Bonnie's mom left them when she was little, and the Gilbert twin's just recently lost their parents, Bonnie silently hoped that he didn't have the same bad luck they did.

"My parents passed away" Elena and Sam made eye contact, both remembering when they reunited at the hospital with Jeremy after their parents died. They had been so lost but were lucky they had each other. Sam wouldn't know what he would do without his siblings, even his younger brother who was struggling the most.

"I'm sorry, any siblings?" Stefan smiled at Sam. "None that I talk to. I live with my uncle" Caroline held back a squeal when she saw the looks being exchanged between the two boys.

"So, Stefan, if you're new, then you don't know about the party tomorrow" Caroline smirked mischievously, making the teen boy panic. "It's a back-to-school party at the falls" Elena added. "Are you going?" Stefan's eyes never leaving Sam. "Of course he is".

HISTORY CLASS:

"The Battle of Willow Creek took place right at the end of the war in our very own Mystic Falls. How many casualties resulted in this battle?" Mr.Tanner looked for a student to call out. "Ms. Bennett?" The dark-haired girl looked up, not expecting to be called on.

"Um...a lot? I'm not sure. Like a whole lot" Sam snorted as quietly as he could, knowing full well that the girl knew the number or at least an estimation. "Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Ms. Bennett. Mr. Donovan? Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype?" He called out the kind and compassionate jock, who happened to be Elena's ex.

"It's okay, Mr. Tanner, I'm cool with it" The whole class snickered. "Hmm. Ms. Gilbert? Surely you can enlighten us about one of the town's most significant historical events?" Elena's eyes widened, the brunette was more worried about failing the first math test than the current class she was in.

"I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, Elena. But the personal excuses ended with summer break" Sam scoffed, getting Mr. Tanner's attention. "Mr.Gilbert, with your reaction, would you mind telling us the answer?" The teacher smiled smugly, not expecting that the boy knew this when he would be still dealing with his personal crap.

"346 casualties, not including civilian casualties" Sam replied. "Almost, except there were no civilian casualties" Sam went to retort, but a familiar face spoke up. "Actually, there were 27, sir. Confederate soldiers, they fired on the church, believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong. It was a night of great loss. The founder's archives are, uh, stored in the city hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts, Mr. Tanner" The teacher only huffed, turning back to teaching.

Sam looked over at Stefan, giving the other teen a smile and a thumbs up.

PARTY:

The three girls surrounded their gay friend, teasing him. "Just admit it, Sammy!" Caroline exclaimed, hyper and a bit intoxicated. "I don't know what you guys are talking about" Caroline groaned in frustration.

"Back me up, Bonnie, Elena!" Caroline turned to the other girls. "Care's right, he likes you" The two girls agreed. "See! He looks at you like Dean looks at Castiel! I need Destiel to become cannon somehow!" Sam chuckled.

"Where is he?" Sam looked around. "I don't know, I'm gonna get water and see if I can find him" Before leaving, Sam slightly pulled Elena to the side. "Can you make sure Caroline doesn't get hurt while I'm gone? She gets a bit clumsy when drinking" Elena squeezed her brother's hand. "Of course, Sam. Now go get your man" Sam hugged his sister.

"Thanks, Womb-Mate" As Sam scurried off, he heard his sister say "Why do you call me your Womb-Mate?" Sam snickered, grabbing a water bottle before running into Stefan.

"It seems our thing is running into each other" Sam laughed nervously, not noticing the adoration in Stefan's eyes while he looked at him. "I guess so" The two walked slightly away from the party, mostly away from his friend's excited looks and the sad look he saw while meeting eyes with Tate.

"You know, you're the number one topic people are gossiping about" Stefan rose an eyebrow. "Am I?" Sam nodded. "Oh yeah, the hot loner kid, a mystery to all" Stefan ignored his dead heart slightly fluttering when he heard Sam call him hot.

"The mysterious teen slot seems to be already owned by you" Sam laughed. "Yeah, it's a long story. Not really party chat" Stefan looked at him, honestly wanting to know. "I'm not good with parties anyway" Sam sighed, recalling the events.

"It's a simple story. Last spring my parents and I were in our car when it went over a bridge. I somehow survived, they didn't. That's my depressing life story" Sam was a bit proud of himself, it was the first time he had spoken about what happened without having an anxiety attack or crying.

"You won't be sad forever, Sam".

***

"I like your friends, they seem nice. They also haven't stopped looking at us" Sam snorted when he saw the three girls sneaking glances over at the two, blushing when he realized he had just snorted in front of the cute guy. "Yeah, they're very eccentric. But they are great friends" Stefan then looked at Tate.

"And that guy, he hasn't stopped looking over here too," Sam noticed he was referring to Tate Lockwood, the shaggy-haired teen who reminded everyone of a puppy.

"That's Tate Lockwood, my ex. We've been friends since we were in diapers, we started dating but it didn't end well" Sam sighed before noticing his sister and brother arguing. "Son of a bitch" Stefan noticed what he saw.

"Who's that with your sister?" Sam sighed, realizing he would have to play mediator. "My little brother, family drama. I need to go—" Stefan nodded, reassuring Sam that it was okay. "Go, I'll mingle with your friends" Sam ran off to find his siblings arguing about Jeremy being drunk, Elena and Sam weren't drinkers, unlike Jeremy.

"What happened?" Sam questioned, trying to keep up with his siblings who were walking fast angrily. "Elena won't mind her own damn business" Jeremy spat. "Jer—" Sam stopped when Jeremy tripped over something or someone. Vicki Donovan, the girl who played dolls with Sam as a kid while Matt and Elena ran around. The one who taught him to love books. The one who showed him what Supernatural was.

Vicki was on the ground bleeding, it looked like someone bit her in the neck. The three Gilbert siblings panicked, Sam was the one to pick her up off the ground as they ran to go get help. "Vicki!" Matt ran over, freaking out that his sister was hurt. Multiple people called ambulances, and Sam couldn't spot Stefan anywhere.

SALVATORE BOARDING HOUSE:

Stefan arrived home, his supernaturally aware nephew was there and was extremely confused about why the vampire was back. "What's going on?" Zach worried. "Someone else was attacked tonight, Zach, and it wasn't me!" Stefan told his nephew before running to his room.

He was going to search for his journal when a crow appeared on the windowsill. Stefan knew exactly what was happening, something he wished would never happen.

"Damon" He muttered the name he had tried to avoid. "Hello brother" Damon, a raven-haired man with blue eyes, was now on the balcony. "Crows a bit much, don't you think?" Stefan tried to keep his posture as confident appearing as he could.

"Wait till you see what I can do with the fog" He smirked. "When'd you get here?" Stefan asked. "Well, I couldn't miss your first day at school. Your hair's different. I like it" He said teasingly. "It's been fifteen years, Damon" Unlike his older brother, he was completely and utterly serious.

"Thank God. I couldn't take another day of the nineties. That horrible grunge look? Did not suit you. Remember, Stefan, it's important to stay away from fads" Damon spoke up, obviously using humor to mess with him. "Why are you here?" Stefan questioned.

"I miss my little brother" Stefan slightly shook his head. "You hate small towns. It's boring. There's nothing for you to do" Stefan snarled, remembering what Damon had done in the past that he held no remorse for. "I've managed to keep myself busy" Stefan remembered what happened with Vicki, the pained look that Sam wore on his face as he carried her out of the woods.

"You know, you left that girl alive tonight. That's very clumsy of you" Stefan ridiculed. "Ah. That can be a problem...for you" That was Damon, always trying to ruin his brother's life. "Why are you here now?" Stefan questioned, more tense and frustrated at this point.

"I could ask you the same question. However, I'm fairly certain your answer can be summed up all into one little word... **Sam** ".

 


	3. TWO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam meets Stefan's older brother and starts to question their relationship. Jeremy's secrets come out.

GILBERT RESIDENTS:

The usual feeling of guilt and pain that Sam had been used to waking up with was replaced with a new sense of hope and happiness. Things were going well in his world and he didn't want to ruin it. He now had a boyfriend who he was head-over-heels for, he had his family and friends, he was doing better in school, and he was now starting to slowly go back to Sam before the accident.

As Sam and Elena got ready for school that day, Jenna was getting ready too. "Do I look adult? As if respectable paternal?" Jenna asked them both.

"Depends, where are you going?" Elena asked. "Jeremy's parent-teacher conference. Hair up or down?" Jenna asked, showing the two styles. "Up" Elena advised. Jenna turned to Sam. "I'm gay, not a fashion icon" The two girls laughed.

"You're feisty today, Sam" Jenna smiled, hoping this meant Sam was slowly moving forward in his life. "I feel good, life is going good so far. I'm even pulling Roscoe out to drive 'Lena to school" Sam beamed at the mention of his beloved Jeep before looking around for his baby brother.

"Where's Jer? I wanna give him a ride" Sam wondered. "He left early. Something about getting to wood shop early to finish a birdhouse" Elena and Sam shared a look, not knowing how to break it to their aunt who understood their signals.

"There's no wood-shop, is there?" Sam smiled awkwardly. "Surprise".

MYSTIC FALLS HIGH SCHOOL:

After getting to school, Bonnie and Caroline bombarded Sam with questions about how Stefan and himself got together. Sam told them that they would talk after school. They were so impatient that they begged Elena to tell them, the girl refused and went with her brother's wishes.

Sam was in History with Stefan. The two weren't paying much attention. "Originally discovered nearly 5 centuries ago, it hasn't been over Mystic Falls in over 145 years. Now, the comet will be its brightest right after dusk during tomorrow's celebration. Are we bothering you, Mr. Salvatore? Mr. Gilbert?" Sam blushed when he was caught, the bell ringing to signal that class was over.

Since they had a bit of a long passing time, Stefan and Sam walked together and chatted. "No, you didn't!" Sam gasped as Stefan pulled out a limited edition copy of The Catcher and The Rye. Stefan and Sam bonded over their love of literature, Sam telling him how he loved the book but never found a good copy after reading it in his sophomore year.

"You seem to be pretty obsessed with the book" Stefan smiled at the awe shining in Sam's eyes, his emotions contagious. "Yeah, Holden's the most relatable character. Even though the book was written in the 50's it can still relate to kids today, outsiders from the society that are struggling to deal with their own mental health" Sam spoke passionately.

"I have a lot of books, you can keep it" Sam's eyes widened. "Stef, this is your book. I'll return it when I'm done with it" Sam declared, Stefan agreeing just so they wouldn't argue. But there wasn't a doubt in his mind that he would ever take it back, he would give it to Sam as a holiday gift or for his birthday.

OUTSIDE MYSTIC HIGH SCHOOL:

Sam met up with Matt during his free period to talk about Vicki, knowing full well that his mom wasn't gonna show up and that he really didn't have many people to truly talk to. None that would actually listen, that is.

"They're keeping her overnight to make sure there's no infection, but she should be able to come home tomorrow" Matt explained to him. "That's good news" He tried to cheer up the blonde football star. "Yeah" Sam gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Have you gotten into contact with your mom?" Matt sighed, only wishing he had a responsible parent. "Called and left a message. She's in Virginia Beach with her boyfriend, so we'll see how long it takes her to come rushing home" The boy has always a rough childhood, especially when he basically had to raise his older sister.

"I'm so glad we found her in time" Sam muttered, not knowing what would have happened if they didn't. "I know, and now there's talk of some missing campers" Sam groaned. "Did she say what attacked her?" Matt scoffed slightly. "She said it was a vampire" Something inside Sam went cold when he heard the term. It seemed so familiar to him, but he couldn't place why.

MYSTIC GRILL:

In true Caroline Forbes actions, the girl would not stop questioning Sam about what had happened with Stefan. Bonnie, on the other hand, understood that nothing really happened. "Well, I was talking to Grams, and she said the comet is a sign of impending doom. The last time it passed over Mystic Falls, there was lots of death. So much blood and carnage, it created a bed of paranormal activity" Bonnie tried to change the subject.

"Yeah, and then you poured Grams another shot and she told you about the aliens" Caroline dismissed before turning her attention to her best friend. "So then what?" She pestered, eager to know everything.

"Nothing" Caroline's eyes widened. "You and Stefan talked all night? There was no sloppy first kiss or touchy-feely of any kind?" Caroline exclaimed, getting a few looks from people around them. But this didn't bother Caroline as she was focused on the love life of Sam and Stefan, her current OPT.

"Nope, not at all" Sam admitted. "Not even a handshake? I mean, Sammy, we are your friends. Ok? You are supposed to share the smut" Sam shook his head. "Not if it didn't happen, Care" He teased.

"Okay, what is with the blockage? Just jump his bones already! Okay, it's easy. You like him, he likes you, sex!" She declared. "Profound" Elena scoffed, knowing Sam was nothing like that. He was a virgin and was waiting until he met someone he truly could say that he loved.

Sam thought for a moment before standing up. "Where are you going?" Bonnie questioned. "Care's right, I can't let anxiety consume me. If I want to get anywhere with Stefan, I need to be straightforward" Caroline cheered. "That's my Sammy!"

SALVATORE BOARDING HOUSE:

Sam now lost all confidence he had as soon as he arrived at the boarding house that Stefan lived at. He took a few deep breaths before knocking on the door, which opened by itself.

"Hello?" He spoke, nobody answered or showed up. He took one step in and looked around. "I'm not gonna be that dumbass in a horror movie, not today" He turned to leave only to see a crow fly right towards him. He turned around to see where the hell the crow was going, only to be inches away from another face.

A man with raven hair and icy blue eyes stood right in front of him. He looked like he was in his early twenties, and scared the crap out of Sam. "Holy shit!" He swore, slightly jumping in shock. The man only chuckled, Sam took a step backward.

"I'm sorry, the door-" He turned to the door only to see it shut. "...was open" He muttered, clearly confused. "You must be Sam. I'm Damon, Stefan's brother" Sam rose an eyebrow, remembering when Stefan told him about not talking to his sibling.

"He didn't mention you" Sam spoke suspiciously. "Well, Stefan's not one to brag. Please, come. I'm sure Stefan will be along any second" Sam hesitatingly followed Damon into the living room only to be shocked by how fancy and well decorated it was.

"Holy shit, this is your living room? This probably costs more than my entire house!" Damon smirked at the fact that Sam didn't have much of a filter. "Living room, parlor, Sotheby's auction. It's a little kitschy for my taste" Damon seemed pretty normal to Sam until he continued talking.

"I see why my brother's so smitten, you're adorable. It's about time. For a while there, I never thought he'd get over the last one. Nearly destroyed him" Sam furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "The last one?" He repeated, more to himself.

"Yeah. Emmett, his ex? Oh, you two haven't had the awkward exes conversation yet?" Damon was clearly trying to ruin his brother's relationship. "No, we haven't" Sam hesitated, trying to figure out how to get out of the awkward situation.

"Oops. Well, I'm sure it'll come up now. Or maybe he didn't want to tell you because he didn't want you to think he was on the rebound. We all know how those relationships end" Sam scoffed and was about to retort when Damon greeted Stefan, making the boy whip around to see his boyfriend.

"Sam, I didn't know you were coming over" Stefan was tense as he met his older brother's eyes. "I know I should've called-" Damon cut him off.

"Oh, don't be silly. You're welcome any time. Isn't he, Stefan? You know, I should break out the family photo albums or some home movies. But I have to warn you, he wasn't always such a looker" Sam became increasingly worried when he saw the look on Stefan's face that was ultimately caused by his older brother.

"Thank you for stopping by, Sam. Nice to see you" Sam was all ready to leave. "Bye," He started walking out. "Bye Sam!" Damon called, only to be unheard by the confused 17-year-old.

As soon as Sam was gone, Stefan glared at his brother even more intensely. "Great guy, he's adorable. You, on the other hand, look pooped. Did you over-exert yourself today? Let me guess, hospital" Damon smirked cheekily.

"Someone had to clean up your mess" Stefan remained stoic. "Well, were you successful? Did the powers of persuasion work? Remember, if you don't feed properly, none of those little tricks work right" Damon kept teasing, irking his baby brother.

"How long was Sam here?" Damon chuckled. "Were you worried, Stefan? Scared we may be doomed to repeat the past? Isn't that why you play your little game,  _I'm a high school human_ " The elder brother kept teasing.

"I'm not playing any game" Stefan retorted. ": Of course you are. We both know the closest you'll ever get to humanity is when you rip it open and feed on it" Stefan was really ticked off. "What kind of game are you playing, Damon?" The older brother now smiled wickedly. "Guess you'll just have to wait and see, won't you?".

GILBERT RESIDENCE:

Jenna, Sam, and Elena were speaking about Sam's encounter. "So he's on the rebound with major family issues?" Elena summed up, earning a nod from her twin. "Well, at least it's an ex. Wait till you date a guy with mommy issues or cheating issues. Or amphetamine issues" Sam snorted, their talk ending when Jeremy walked inside the home. Jenna started taking Mr. Tanner's advice and started questioning Jeremy.

"Jeremy? Jeremy, where were you?" The boy was clearly dazed. "More stoner stories? Look, Jenna, I get it, you were cool. And so that's so cool" He replied. "Oh, no, no, no!" Jenna threw an apple at Jeremy, causing the twins to chuckle to themselves.

"Ow! Why? Why...why did you do that?" Jeremy exclaimed. "Listen up! Quit ditching class or you're grounded. No discussion" He didn't take his aunt seriously. "Parental authority, I like it. Sleep tight" Sam followed his little brother upstairs, letting the girls know he would handle it.

Sam knocked on his brother's door. "Go away, Jenna or Elena!" He heard his brother groan. "It's Sam" Jeremy opened the door, knowing Sam would be the last person to judge him.

"You went to visit Vicki, didn't you? You're not even high" Sam had a way to see right past Jeremy's bullshit, especially when he knew how Jeremy was when he was high.

"How'd you know?" Jeremy sat on his bed, Sam shut the door behind him. "I can see right through your act, I also know that 'woodshop' was really you visiting the hospital" Jeremy slouched.

"Jer, you don't have to lie. Jenna won't be mad for you disappearing to go visit Vicki, it's better than the punishment you'll probably get for doing drugs" Sam advised. "Why does everyone have to get hurt?" Sam wrapped his arms around his little brother. "I don't know, Jer" The boy huffed.

"She's dating Tyler Lockwood, a guy who only wants her for sex and that's it! She can't see how much he doesn't care for her" Sam squeezed his hand. "Jer, some people are too blinded by love to see what's right in front of them, she'll realize that you're the one if you stick by her as a friend, and try to stop fighting Tyler. It's not gonna end well".

MYSTIC FALLS TOWN SQUARE:

It was the night of the comet, and they were doing a candle lighting event. Sam waited for Stefan but didn't see him. "Hey, you want me to light your candle?" Sam looked up to see Tate Lockwood smiling at him. The two hadn't talked since the breakup, so it was a bit awkward.

"Yeah" Tate did so, the two now awkwardly standing there. "I don't want this to be awkward between us" Tate blurted out. "I know, it just usually is" Sam rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "It doesn't have to be. Even though we broke up, I'm still here for you. Always. It will probably take us time, but we can get back to the old days...I-I mean if you want" His three female friends were watching, they all had different opinions on what was going down.

Elena didn't like the two as a couple, but she always enjoyed them being close friends since Sam didn't get to have a lot of male friends. Caroline didn't ship it, she thought they seemed too similar to each other but they were a good BROTP, but she knew Stefan and Sam were her OTP.

Bonnie, unlike the other two, had shipped them since they were kids. Even though Bonnie might have a tiny crush on her gay best friend, she always thought Sam and Tate were adorable together.

"I've got to go find Matt, but we'll talk later?" Sam nodded, saying goodbye before Tate left. "All good, I hope?" Sam slightly jumped, making sure he didn't drop his candle as he did so. He looked over to see Stefan.

"Stef, don't do that. I've got a delicate heart" Sam put his free hand over his heart to emphasize this. "Do you want me to light your candle?" Stefan smiled. "Yeah, I'd like that" After all the stress with Damon and Zach, he was relieved to get a break to spend time with his boyfriend.

"And to answer your question, Tate and I are working on being friends again" Stefan faked a smile, a bit jealous of the boy that stole Sam's heart first.

"I'm sorry about my brother" Sam just laughed, the two held their free hand's, intertwining them perfectly. "It's okay, I get why you don't talk to him a lot. He's a bit odd" It was Stefan's turn to laugh. "That's an understatement. What did he say?" Sam licked his bottom lip, unsure of how to bring it up.

"He told me about your ex, Emmett" Stefan stiffened, only for Sam to squeeze his hand reassuringly. "Don't worry, Stef. I understand how problematic exes can be. Your past isn't an issue, not when we're working on the present. And besides, I'm not sure if I'd trust Damon anyway" Stefan looked at Sam in awe before kissing him.

MYSTIC GRILL:

Stefan had to do a few things before he came back for his uncle, so Sam went to The Grill only to find chaos happening. "Hey, has anyone seen Vicki?" Jeremy panicked, Sam jogged to his brother's side. It was Caroline, Matt, Elena, Tyler, Tate, Jeremy, and Bonnie.

"You're her stalker. You tell us" Tyler retorted, only to be ignored. "I can't find her" They were all worried, except for Tyler who had to say dumbass comments. "She probably found somebody else to party with. Sorry, pill pusher, I guess you've been replaced" The nickname freaked Elena out, but not Sam. He had a feeling Jeremy was dealing but was slowly getting him to stop. It was working too, but this would be a setback in his progress.

"What's with the pill pusher?" Elena sounded like an overprotective mother, something Sam was grateful that she took on so he didn't have to. "Ask him" Tyler smirked. "You wanna do this right now?" Jeremy retorted, considering the events that were occurring.

"Tyler, stop" Tate held his brother back from going any closer to Jeremy, both Tate and Sam meeting eyes and nodding. They always seemed to be able to know what the other was thinking, they both knew they had to hold their brother's back from fighting each other.

"She's never gonna go for you" Tyler snapped. "She already did. Over and over and over again" Everybody was shocked, thought Sam's thoughts were ' _I'm the only one in this group that's still a virgin, great'._

"You slept with Vicki Donovan? I mean, Vicki Donovan slept with you?" Caroline looked over at Sam and Elena to make sure they were okay. "There's no way" Tyler denied.

"And I didn't even have to force her into it" His words really angered Matt, made Sam shocked, and Tate pisses at his own brother. "What the hell is he talking about, Ty?" Matt questioned. "Nothing man, just ignore him, he's a punk".

"You know what, how about all of you shut up and help me find my sister?" The group all agreed. "We'll check the back" Bonnie spoke up. "I'll check the square" Jeremy was going to go with but was held back by Elena who was accompanied by Sam.

"Elena, don't do this right now" Sam groaned. "No, Sam. Let's hear what she has to say" Jeremy snarled slightly at his older sister. "So that's your game now, dealing?" Sam facepalmed. "I can't handle this, You two give me too much anxiety" Sam walked away, but the conversation wasn't over between the youngest and oldest Gilbert.

"I'm not dealing" Jeremy lied. "Look, I'm sick of the tough love speech, Jer. It's clearly having no impact" Jeremy rolled his eyes. "You and Jenna, between the two of you. Enough already!" Jeremy hissed.

"We can stop if you want. Send you to a therapist where you'll be forced to deal with it or to rehab where you'll sit in a group and tell some stranger how you let your life fall apart. Or you could talk to me".

"No thanks" Jeremy denied, looking his sister dead in their matching eyes. "I've been talking with Sam lately, someone who doesn't judge me as much".

 


	4. THREE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam hosts a dinner party after he realizes that Bonnie doesn't like Stefan. Damon crashes the dinner party and brings up Stefan's ex.

MYSTIC FALLS HIGH SCHOOL:

It was truly rare moments like this where Sam and Bonnie got to spend one-on-one time together without anyone else, the two were humble and calm together. Except now Bonnie was expressing her concern over Stefan.

"I'm not saying don't date the guy. I'm just saying take it slow" Sam looked at her in confusion. "You literally helped them set us up" Sam recalled. "Now I'm saying take it slow" Sam sighed. "Bonnie, is this about Tate?" Bonnie shook her head.

"No, even though I really liked you two together. I just think you should take more time before truly deciding to start date, go slow. You don't need a man to make you happy, Sam" Sam smiled. "I'm just concerned. This is me expressing concern about one of my best friend's new boyfriend" Bonnie finished.

"I know, and I love you for it" Stefan walked over to greet them. "Good morning Sam, good morning Bonnie" He greeted. "Hey, um, I gotta find Caroline. She's not answering her phone. So I'll see you guys later" Bonnie said before leaving, making the male Gilbert sigh.

"She doesn't like me very much" Stefan mumbled. "No, Stef. She's just being a bit protective and that's all. She'll get more comfortable when she sees how good of a person you are" Sam reassured him.

As the two were walking and talking, the Lockwood brother's and Matt Donovan were tossing a football when they spotted them, Tate frowned when she saw how happy Sam was with another guy.

"Look, there's Sam and his new boyfriend. Now, what are they doing? Oh, they're walking, walking, walking. Yep. Right into the sunset" Tate's brother Tyler spoke. "You're a dick," Matt told Tyler, looking at Tate in concern.

"While you just stand there looking like one of those little yard trolls" Tyler finished, Tate shooting him a look. "Gnomes" He corrected.

While Sam and Stefan were making plans for dinner, the three just continued talking. "What am I supposed to do, Ty? He made his choice, and we're gonna try and be friends" Tyler scoffed at his naive brother.

"That never works. You have to show Sam he made the wrong choice" Tyler started to back up, getting ready to throw the football. "What are you doing? Ty, don't. Ty, don't! Ty!" Tyler threw the football straight at Stefan, only for him to catch it and shock everyone.

INSIDE:

"Stef, do you play football or something?" Sam exclaimed. "I used to. It was a long time ago" Stefan said sheepishly. "Try out for the team, Stef!" Sam suggested. "Yeah, I don't think so" Sam furrowed his eyebrows. "So you don't like football?"

"No, I love football. I think it's a great sport. But in this case, I don't think football likes me. You saw Tyler over there, and we both know how Tate feels" Stefan reminded his boyfriend.

"They don't know who you are, you're the loner new kid" Stefan smiles. "Says the boy who hangs out in graveyards" Stefan teased. "Hey, I haven't always been like that. The old me was outgoing and sarcastic" Sam recalled. "And I look forward to meeting him, soon?" Stefan suggested. "Be patient".

HISTORY CLASS:

"World war II ended in...Anyone got anything? Miss Juan? 1945" As Mr.Tanner spoke, the two whispered back and forth. "Our teams sucks after I left" Sam winked.

"Can't loner" Mr.Tanner caught on to the two. "Mr. Gilbert?" Sam looked like a deer caught in headlights. "What?" Mr.Tanner rolled his eyes. "Pearl Harbor" The teacher didn't think Sam would know, but he did.

"December 7, 1941" Both Stefan and Sam answered at the same time. "You two trying to be a power couple? Very well, then. The fall of the Berlin Wall" He challenges. "1989" The two boys smiled.

"Keep it to the year. Civil Rights Act" Sam rose an eyebrow at Stefan, who nodded. "1964" The kids in the class laughed at Tanner's slightly shocked face.

"John F. Kennedy assassination" Sam remembered watching the documentary. "1963" Poor JFK. "Martin Luther King" Tanner was getting more desperate. "68" It seemed like the power couple was synched.

"Lincoln" Sam rolled his eyes. "1865" Tanner was starting to slightly twitch, Sam holding back a chuckle as he noticed. "Roe vs. Wade" Sam groaned mentally. "1973" This was getting ridiculous, Tanner was literally creeping everyone out from his urge to embarrass the couple.

"The battle of Gettysburg" They had learned this before, Tanner was just clawing for a way to be victorious. "1863" Both boys were still in sync.

"Korean War" Sam and Stefan shared a look, both finding this ridiculous. "1950 to 1953" Tanner smirked. "Ha! It ended in '52" Sam rose an eyebrow.

"Uh, actually, sir, it was '53" Stefan spoke, trying to stay polite. "Look it up, somebody. Quickly" The entire class pulled out their cellphones, all happy that they were doing this instead of a lecture. "It was 19...53".

OUTSIDE, CHEERLEADING PRACTICE:

Sam had always somehow aided Caroline with Cheerleading, and since he quit the team he had basically become her assistant.

Caroline had yet to show up, Bonnie was stretching while Sam was anxiously waiting for her. "Oh my god, Sam. Look who showed up" Sam turned around, his eyes widening when he saw Elena.

"Lena!" Sam and Elena hugged before she did the same with Bonnie. "Yep. I can't be the sad girl forever. The only way to get things back to the way they were is to do things that were " Sam smiled widely before remembering he never told Bonnie about dinner.

"You're coming to our house for dinner tonight" Bonnie smiled at the excitement across his face, making him look like an excited puppy. "I am?" Sam nodded eagerly. "Mm-hmm. You, me, Lena, Care, and Stefan. You have to give him a chance" Bonnie's smile turned into a frown.

"Tonight's no good. Have you seen Caroline? I texted her like a hundred times" Bonnie avoided. "Don't change the subject, Bonnie Shelia Bennett. I expect you to be there early to help me dish takeout food into containers to make it seem like we cooked" Bonnie's smile returned. "Okay".

As the girls on the team stretched, a few asked Sam where their team captain was considering they had been joined at the hip since they were little, but he had no clue.

"Where is she?" Sam groaned. "I don't know. It's not like her" Elena agreed that something was weird. "I'll try her again" As soon as Bonnie said those words, a 1969 Chevy Camaro pulled up. Sam looked at the car in awe. "Holy shit, pinch me I must be dreaming" Elena and Bonnie chuckled until they saw it was Caroline climbing out of the car.

She kissed the driver, that Sam made eye contact with. He recognized him immediately, it was Stefan's older brother Damon. The icy eyes met Sam's puppy-like one's, Damon smirked only to make Sam shiver slightly.

"Who's that?" Bonnie questioned, getting a bad feeling about him. "That's Damon Salvatore" Sam spoke, remembering meeting the man. "Salvatore? As in Stefan?"

The older Salvatore pulled away as Caroline had almost made it to her three friends. "I got the other brother. Hope you don't mind" She teased her friend before getting the cheerleaders ready.

"Sorry I'm late, girls. I, uh, was busy. All right, let's start with the double pike herkey hurdler, what do you say—" Everyone got into form. "And 5, 6, 7, 8. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8" Caroline stopped for a second when she saw Elena struggling, Sam cringed.

"Elena, sweetie, why don't you just observe today? Ok? Keep going! Ok. Do it again from the top. And 5, 6, 7, 8. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8" Sam pulled his sister off to the side. "Are you okay?" He worried slightly, making his sister smile at him. "I'm fine, Sam. I'll just have to practice a lot" Sam nodded. "Bon and I got your back".

SALVATORE BOARDING HOUSE:

When Stefan got home and to his room after tryouts, his older brother was there reading his diary. Stefan was already sick and tired of his brother showing up all the time, all he wanted to do was be at peace with his boyfriend and new friends.

"How were tryouts? Did you make the team? Very Emerson, the way you reveal your soul with so many...adjectives" Stefan said nothing, ripping his diary out of Damon's hands. "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to apologize. I've been doing some thinking, some soul searching, and...I want us to start over. We need to put the past behind us. You're my little brother, and if you want to live a normal, happy human life, then I want that for you. Maybe I can do it, too. That I can learn to be a non-living living person. Maybe there's hope for both of us" Damon couldn't keep a straight face, immediately breaking.

"You know, it doesn't have to be this way, Damon" Stefan tried to offer his brother a different pathway, but knew it was no use. "Of course it doesn't. I saw Sam today, BTW. That means by the way. He was at cheerleading practice, helping his blonde best friend. He looked so hot in his shorts and workout tank-top" Damon then rolled his eyes at Stefan's angry reaction.

"Just, simmer down, I didn't even go near him. I've got his best friend. Ooh, that reminds me...I gotta run. I have a date. Sweaty palms. Wish me luck".

GILBERT RESIDENCE:

"You explain it. Last night, I'm watching Nine-o, commercial breaks come on and I'm like, I bet it's that phone commercial. And sure enough, it's that guy and the girl with the bench, he flies to Paris and he flies back. They take a picture" Bonnie ranted. Bonnie, Elena, and Sam were 'preparing' the food for dinner.

"That commercial is constantly on, I've seen it cut through its own commercial just to replay the same one from the beginning" Sam retorted. "Fine. Well, how about this? Today I'm obsessed with numbers. 3 numbers. I keep seeing 8, 14, and 22. How weird is that?" Sam's eyes widened, getting out a crumbled up piece of paper from his pocket that he had written down the same numbers on.

"What the-" Both looked at each other in confusion. "Have you talked to Grams?" Sam worried. "She's just gonna say it's because I'm a witch. I don't want to be a witch" Bonnie looked at Sam. "Do you want to be a witch?" He shook his head. "I don't wanna be a witch".

Bonnie sighed when Sam was pouring the food into the bowl. "And putting it in a nice bowl isn't fooling anybody" Sam stuck his tongue out playfully. "Okay, serving spoons. Where are the serving spoons?" Elena tried remembering. "Middle drawer on the left" And sure enough, Bonnie was right. "Ok, so you've been in this kitchen like a thousand times" Bonnie frowned.

"Yeah, that's it" The doorbell rang, making Sam smooth out the nice long sleeve shirt he wore without a flannel like he usually did. "He's here, please try and get along".

GILBERT RESIDENCE, KITCHEN:

To say it was awkward was an understatement. Sam was luck Elena was here, otherwise who would've known what would happen. Caroline was supposed to be there to help, but she sent him a text that she was running late.

"Did Tanner give you a hard time today?" Sam asked, breaking the silence as they all ate. "Well, he let me on the team, so I must have done something right" Elena shot Bonnie a 'play nice for Sam' look.

"Bonnie, you should have seen Stefan today. Tyler threw a ball right at him, and..." Bonnie cut him off swiftly. "Yeah, I heard" Elena then got a great idea. Sam and Stefan were both into history, so why not bring up Bonnie's family history from Salem? Maybe she could try her hardest to help them connect.

"Why don't you tell Stefan about your family?" Elena offered. "Um, divorced. No, mom. Live with my dad" Bonnie mumbled, looking at her food. "No, about the witches. Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches" Bonnie just shrugged. "Bonnie, it's really cool" Sam tried to encourage.

"Cool isn't the word I'd use" Stefan had already connected the dots, Bonnie was a descendant if Emily Bennett, a witch he knew when he was still human. "Well, it's certainly interesting. I'm not too versed, but I do know that there's a history of Celtic druids that migrated here in the 1800s" Bonnie slightly looked at Stefan.

"My family came by way of Salem" Bonnie replied. "Really? Salem?" Bonnie nodded. "Yeah" Bonnie mumbled. "I would say that's pretty cool" Stefan agreed with Sam. "Really? Why?" Bonnie got curious. "Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and nonconformity" Bonnie smiled, more proud of her heritage and warming up to Stefan. "Yeah, they are".

Just when Sam thought things were going great, the doorbell rang. "Is that Caroline?" Sam was a bit confused. "Why would she ring the doorbell? She has a key" Sam went to the door, opening it to find Caroline and her new boyfriend standing there.

"Sammy! I'm sorry we're late, but I brought apple pie!" Sam was happy to see his best friend, but still wary about Damon, knowing Stefan still had a problem with his brother.

"Hope you don't mind" Damon smirked at Sam, only for Stefan and Elena to show up. "What are you doing here?" Stefan tensed up, making Sam a bit worried about what Damon could potentially do.

"Waiting for Sam to invite me in" While Stefan's glare never left his older brother, Damon's eyes were on Sam. "Yeah, you can...." Sam had started but was cut off. All Sam wanted was there to be no conflict, and his best friend brought her complicated and older boyfriend with.

"No, no, no. He can't, uh...he can't stay. Can you, Damon?" Stefan gave his brother a challenging look. "Get in here" Caroline complained, already inside the house. "We're just finishing up" Sam sighed, wanting to be nice, at least the guy was asking for permission instead of barging in.

"It's fine, come in" Damon smirked, stepping inside. "You have a beautiful home, Sam" Damon complimented. "Thanks?"

LIVING ROOM:

The six were now all gathered in the living room. "I cannot believe that Mr. Tanner let you on the team. Tyler must be seething. But good for you. Go for it" Caroline spoke. "That's what I always tell him. You have to engage. You can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it" There were always double meanings to the words Damon spoke, it seemed that only Stefan truly understood what he meant.

"The entire football team misses you, Sammy. They are literally begging me to get you back after you quit" Caroline added. "He quit for a reason, Care" Bonnie reminded the blonde.

"You don't seem like the football type, Sam" Damon observed. "Oh, it's just 'cause his parents died. Yeah, I mean, he's just totally going through a blah phase. He used to be way more fun" Caroline caught herself, immediately regretting the words that just came out of her mouth. It seemed like she had no control as if she was forced to speak those words. "And I say that with complete sensitivity".

"I'm sorry, Sam, Elena. I know what it's like to lose both your parents. In fact, Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we've ever cared about die" Stefan tensed up at Damon's words.

"We don't need to get into that right now, Damon" Damon played innocent, but he was holding back the devilish smirk he was known for. "Oh, you know what, you're right, Stef. I'm sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was bring him up. Mmm".

KITCHEN:

To get away from everything, Sam washed the dishes. As he had almost finished, Damon came into the room with another glass. "One more" Damon gestured to the glass. "Thank you" Damon lightly tossed it to Sam, who was not prepared and ended up almost dropping it. Luckily, Damon got it before it hit the ground.

"Nice save, you sure you don't wanna join our football team with Stef?" Damon smiled. "I like you. You know how to laugh. And you make Stefan smile, which is something I haven't seen in a very long time" Sam frowned as he remembered the ex Damon had brought up the first time they met.

"Earlier, did you mean Stefan's ex?" Sam's voice lowered a bit, feeling bad for even asking anyone other than Stefan. But Stefan knew everything about his ex, shouldn't he get to know if Stefan's still hurting from losing someone he loved?

"Mm-hhh. Emmett and his sister Katherine" Sam frowned. "How'd they die?" Sam couldn't help it, he had always been a curious child. "In a fire. A tragic fire. It seems like it was only yesterday" Damon wanted to make Sam think Stefan was still on the rebound, not realizing that Sam was starting to realize that Damon had also been in love with him too.

"What were they like?" Sam wondered, pleading mentally that they didn't look like Sam and his sister. He refused to believe that he had dated Sam just because he looked like his ex. "He was handsome, compassionate, and loved everyone. But he was also easy to manipulate. His sister was very manipulative, selfish, and only nice to him" Damon got lost in his own memories.

"Which one of you dated her first?" Damon was slightly impressed, Sam was as intuitive as Emmett had been. "Nicely deduced. Ask Stefan. I'm sure his answer differs from mine. I would not go back to football if I were you?" Sam rose an eyebrow.

"And why is that?" Sam shot the older Salvatore a look, they had just experienced a meaningful conversation and now Damon was trying to tell him what to do? Sam wanted to have hope for the guy, his boyfriend's brother, and best friends boyfriend, but he was just difficult.

"I could tell how upset you got when Caroline mentioned it, it seemed like it made you miserable" Sam scoffed slightly. "That's where you're wrong, I was never miserable while playing" Damon got interested. "Really? That's not what I thought".

"You don't know me, Damon. I loved playing football, I have since before I could remember" Sam recalled spending hours and hours watching football games with his mother when their father took Elena and Jeremy to do boring things like museums.

"What changed?" Sam smiled sadly. "I lost the person who showed me how to love it" There was a silence for what seemed like an hour. "I'm sorry" Damon looked at Sam in confusion. "About Emmett and Katherine, you lost them too" Damon smiled, Elena and Bonnie walked into the kitchen. "Need some help?" The girls offered. "Sure".

FOOTBALL GAME:

It was time for the football game, Stefan and Sam met up. "Look at you" Sam teased his boyfriend who wore the football jersey. "Look at you, you decided not to rejoin?" Sam sighed. "I quit, I'm a quitter. No matter how many people I disappointed, I just couldn't rejoin like last year" Stefan grabbed Sam's hand.

"No, hey, you're not a quitter. You suffered a great loss. You're not the same person. You should be looking ahead. You should be starting over. Ok?" Sam smiled and the two shared a kiss. "I hope you don't think this is too soon or too weird, but...I, uh, I wanted you to have this" Sam looked in awe at the bracelet Stefan pulled out.

"Holy shit" Stefan chuckled. "It's something that I've had forever, and, uh, I've never wanted to give it to anyone until now. I'd very much like it if you'd wear it for me, for good luck" Sam's dimples showed as he smiled adorably, so happy that he had someone like Stefan in his life.

Stefan put it on Sam's wrist, Sam's smile grew wider. The teen noticed a scent in the charm, a scent that seemed familiar. "What's the scent?" Sam wondered curiously. "It's an old herb" Sam smiled sadly, remembering the scent. "My mom, this was her perfume scent" Stefan tried to hide his surprise. It made sense, he was apart of the founding families.

"And, uh, I wanted to thank you for pushing me to try out for the team. I really like it" Stefan thanked, sharing a kiss before Stefan had to run off to join the team. "Elena" Sam called, spotting his sister, not in her cheerleading uniform.

"Did you quit?" Sam inferred. "Yeah, I quit. I'm a quitter and Caroline wants to kill me" Sam laughed. "We're the quitting twins" Elena then noticed the bracelet on Sam's wrist. "Did Stefan give this to you?" Elena wiggled her eyebrows before the two laughed. "Yeah" Elena slightly squealed. "Wait till Caroline hears, she thought you would be the first one to give a gift" The two chatted a bit more as Mr. Tanner spoke to the students.

That was until Sam and Elena spotted Jeremy and Tyler fighting. "Son of a bitch" Sam swore before the two twins sprinted over to stop their brother. Vicki was screaming at them to stop, but it obviously wasn't gonna happen.

"Jer, stop!" Stefan luckily showed up and helped Matt and Elena with Jeremy, knowing his brother was Sam's first priority. Tyler went to lunge at Jeremy but was pushed back hard by Sam.

Looks can be deceiving. Sam had been known as being 'small, skinny, and defenseless', but he was a lot stronger than you would think, especially when you go after someone he loves. But sometimes people forget that, like now. Tyler was so impulsive, so enraged, that he tried to punch Sam.

It felt like a pure instinct when Sam grabbed Tyler's fist, twisting it as much as he could before Tyler stumbled backward. "Tyler, just walk away and go home" Sam tried to give him an out. "Fine" Sam turned around to start walking away, not seeing that Tyler was about to attack. Jeremy noticed and grabbed a broken beer bottle and went to attack, only for Stefan to stop him and get cut by it.

Tate(Tyler's brother) showed up and got him out of the area. When he saw that Elena had Jeremy, Sam ran over to Stefan. "Are you okay?" Sam panicked. "Yes, I'm okay" Stefan hid his hand from Sam. "Stefan, I saw you get cut! How deep is it?" Stefan reluctantly let Sam see his hand.

Sam was completely and utterly shocked to see that Stefan's hand was completely fine. "But I saw..." Sam didn't know what had happened. "It barely missed me, I'm fine Sam" Stefan reassured Sam.

Sam Gilbert didn't completely believe Stefan, but he pushed it to the back of his mind, hugging Stefan in relief.

PARKING LOT:

Sam went to his beloved Jeep to calm down and grab a water. He got a bit scared when Damon showed up out of nowhere.

"Damon! What the hell!" Sam exclaimed, the vampire being able to hear the boy's racing heart. "What are you even doing here?" Sam questioned, still wary of his best friends odd boyfriend. "I'm hiding from Caroline" Sam crossed his arms over his chest.

"Why?" Sam rose an eyebrow. "I needed a break. She talks more than I can listen" Sam glared at him. "Excuse me?" Damon ignored Sam's tone and glare.

"I don't see it going anywhere in the bigger picture. I think she'd drive me crazy" Sam clenched his slightly bruised fist in anger. "Caroline is my best friend, don't talk about her like that. You may be Stefan's brother, but that won't stop me from beating you if you talk shit about Caroline" Damon raised his hands in mock surrender.

"Duly noted. I'm sorry if I make you uncomfortable. That's not my intention" Sam scoffed at Damon's lie. "That's your intention, it's very obvious" Damon smirked. "You're right. I do have other intentions, but so do you" Sam rose an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Mm-hmm. I see 'em. You want me" Sam was taken back. "Excuse me?" Damon started inching closer. "I get to you. You find yourself drawn to me. You think about me even when you don't want to think about me. I bet you even dreamed about me. And right now...You want to kiss me" Damon tried to compel, only for him to get punched in the face.

"What the hell is wrong with you? I don't know why you're obsessed with ruining your brother's life, but don't try that shit on me. I'm not Emmett" Sam stormed off.

LATER:

Shockingly, Stefan and Tate were talking together. "Are you able to play?" Tate asked shyly. "Oh yeah, I'm good" Stefan spoke. "Uh, what you did back there, you had Jeremy's back" Tate spoke. "He's a messed-up kid right now. Somebody's gotta look out for him besides his siblings" Tate smiled, seeing how good of a match his ex-was with this new kid.

"I've been a dick to you since you've gotten here" Stefan shrugged it off. "You had your reasons" Tate shook his head. "No, I didn't. I was jealous, and that's no excuse. I'm sorry for everything" They shook hands. "Good luck tonight. We're lucky to have you" Tate walked away from the area Stefan was at, only for Damon to show up once he was gone.

"Isn't that nice? Stefan joins a team, makes a friend. It's all so  _rah, rah, go, team, yeah!_ " Damon mocked. "Not tonight, I'm done with you" Stefan wanted to get back to the game. "Nice trick with Sam. Let me guess, vervain in the bracelet? I admit I was a bit surprised. It's been a while since anyone could resist my compulsion. Where'd you get it?" Stefan stiffened, concerned about what he tried to do to Sam.

"Does it matter?" Damon noticed how bothered his brother was, despite trying to hide it. "Guess I could just seduce him the old-fashioned way. Or I could just, eat him" Stefan gained confidence, turning to face Damon. He didn't want to, but he knew how Damon was already starting to feel for Sam. If he didn't feel anything for him, he would've already killed him by now.

"No. You're not gonna hurt him, Damon" Damon rose an eyebrow in amusement. "No?" Damon was not prepared for what was about to come out of his little brother's mouth.

"Because deep down inside, there is a part of you that feels for him. I was worried that you had no humanity left inside of you, that you may have actually become the monster that you pretend to be" Damon scoffed, trying to act like the words his brother was saying weren't true.

"Who's pretending?" He questioned. "Then kill me" Stefan stepped forward. "Well, I'm tempted" Stefan shook his head.

"No, you're not. You've had lifetimes to do it, and yet, here I am. I'm still alive. And there you are. You're still haunting me. After 145 years. Emmett is dead. And you hate me because you loved him, and you torture me because you still do. And that, my brother, is your humanity" Stefan triggered Damon's impulses.

At the worst time possible, Mr. Tanner showed up in the secluded area to find his start player. "Salvatore! What the hell? We've got a game to play!" Damon smirked at his idea to prove his brother wrong. "If that's my humanity...then what's this?" Tanner's cries of pain filled the area as Damon fed on him, killing him completely.

GILBERT RESIDENCE, SAM'S ROOM:

_"I thought there was hope that somewhere deep inside, something in Damon was still human, normal. But I was wrong. There's nothing human left in Damon. No good, no kindness. No love. Only a monster Who must be stopped"._

Unknowing to Stefan, Damon was pulling an Edward Cullen and was at Sam's house. He knew that Stefan was right, some part of him held feelings for Sam like he once did with Emmett, but he had to ignore them to get his plan in motion, to bring back Katherine who would know how to bring back Emmett from the dead.

 


	5. FOUR

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam goes to the Founders party with Stefan. A secret about Caroline and Damon's relationship comes forward that makes Sam protective.

  
GILBERT RESIDENCE, DREAM:

_Sam woke up after hearing a noise, getting out of bed. "Jer? Jenna? Lena?" He tried to turn on the light, but it wasn't working. The teenage boy went downstairs to see the tv on and news anchor Logan Fell on the tv._

_"This is Logan Fell coming to you live from the streets of Mystic Falls with breaking news of another deadly animal attack. The wild animal terrorizing the citizens of Mystic Falls has claimed another victim, local high school student Samuel Gilbert. Police are certain that forensic evidence will confirm that this is the same animal responsible for recent attacks" Sam gasped, shocked to see his face on the television._

_"You know what's coming next" Damon's voice echoed throughout the home. Sam ran straight to the front door, swinging it open to find Damon there. He ran to the other home exit, only to find Damon there as well, bitting the boy's neck as his screams echoed through what seemed like the entire world._

SALVATORE RESIDENCE:

Stefan woke up from his nightmare, finding his older brother in his room smirking. "Bad dream? Do you know how easy it was to get into your head just now? You really need some human blood. It might even the playing field. Football reference. Too soon" Stefan threw a knife at Damon, it impaled him in the stomach only for Damon to pull it out with ease.

"All right, I deserved that. But I just wanted to let you know, they caught the culprit. The animal responsible for killing coach Tanner and all those people" Stefan was confused, especially after just waking up. "What are you talking about?" Stefan knew exactly who did it, so how could the culprit, an animal, be caught?

"It was a mountain lion. A really big one. It attacked a hunter this morning. It's all over the news" Damon spoke before quoting the news. "Deadly beast captured. All's well in Mystic Falls" He mocked.

"Why would you cover your tracks?" Stefan asked, afraid of what Damon would say. "I've decided to stay a while. And I'm just having way too much fun here with you and Sam" Stefan growled protectively.

"You can't touch him" He argued. "Well, the vervain keeps me out of his adorable head. Maybe that's not my target. Believe it or not, Stefan, some guys don't need my persuasion. Some guys just can't resist my good looks, my style, and my charm and my unflinching ability to listen to AC/DC and Taylor Swift" Damon then stabbed Stefan with the same knife. It obviously hurt the animal-blood drinker more than the human-blood drinker.

"This is John Varvatos, dude. Dick move" Stefan had fallen to the floor in pain.

 _"I can confirm that a 12-foot puma mountain lion attacked a hunter and was subsequently shot and killed. The hunter is in stable condition"_ Sheriff Forbes spoke on the tv as Stefan now wrote in his diary.

_"The real animal is still out there, waiting for me, challenging me to fight back, to stop him. But how do I stop a monster without becoming one myself?"_

GILBERT RESIDENCE:

As Sam entered the living room, he found Jenna swearing at the tv while Elena watched in amusement.

_"To repeat, the animal terrorizing Mystic Falls has been caught"._

Jenna glared at the tv _._ "Scumball. Sum bucket" Sam snorted. "Who are you talking to?" Sam approached his aunt hesitantly, afraid of how she would act. "Him" She gestured to the news guy. "Logan Fell? He babysat me all the time when I was younger" Sam recognized. While Elena was at dance class, his brother was at daycare, and his parents were working Logan had babysat him. He was always nice to Sam, but who wasn't?

"Yes, Logan 'Scum' Fell. Did your mom ever tell you why I moved away from Mystic Falls?" Sam gasped slightly, holding back any laughter. "You and Logan? I can see it, not your type but he's cute" Jenna scowled. "He is not cute. There's nothing cute about him" Sam then noticed what Elena had in her hand. "What are you doing with that?"

"I went yesterday and got it from the safe deposit box. Mom had told Mrs. Lockwood, she would loan it to the founder's council for their heritage display" Sam made an 'oh' face, remembering what was coming up. All the founders day events annoyed Sam to no end, but he was excited to see Elena and Caroline compete for Miss Mystic Falls.

Elena showed the two what was in the box. "Is that grandma Beth's wedding ring?" Jenna said, examining the ring. "It was actually great-great-grandma Mary's originally" Sam corrected.

"How much do you think this stuff is worth? You know, like on eBay?" Jeremy spoke as he entered the room, the three scowling at the youngest Gilbert. "You're not gonna find out" Elena sassed, making Sam snort. "That stuff is mom and dads. You can't just give it away" Jeremy exclaimed.

"We're loaning it" Sam retorted. When the doorbell rang, Sam sighed in relief, opening it to see Stefan. "Hi" Sam smiled, kissing his boyfriend before pulling him inside the house.

SAM'S BEDROOM:

The boys had previously been making out until Jenna walked in, it was now extremely awkward for the two until Sam decided to speak up.

"Stef, how do you look in a suit?" Sam blurted, earning a look of confusion from Stefan. "I can pull one off" Stefan spoke.

"How about tomorrow night? Will you be my date to the Founder's Party?" Both boys smiled brightly. "I would be honored to accompany you, Mr. Gilbert" Sam chuckled. "The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Salvatore".

SAM'S BEDROOM, LATER:

Bonnie and Sam were in Sam's room as Bonnie decided what to wear for the founder's event. "Delicate flower vs. naughty vixen" Bonnie held the two dresses up, showing Sam. "I'm gay, not a fashion icon" Sam retorted, smoothing out his nice button-up shirt.

"Look at you, getting all handsome for your date. You seem really happy" Bonnie wanted to tell Sam what Caroline told her about Stefan, but the girl didn't want to ruin her friend's good mood considering it was usually rare to see him so happy after the accident.

"I am, but don't let that stop you from telling me whatever you wanted to say as soon as you came over" Bonnie sighed, knowing that she couldn't hold it from Sam any longer. "What if I tell you in the morning? I don't want to ruin your night" Sam shook his head. "Out with it, Bonnie the teenage witch" Bonnie slightly laughed at the nickname, the two now sitting on his bed.

"Okay, but it has to go in the vault, because Caroline will kill me if it gets back to Damon that she squealed" Sam nodded, urging the girl to continue. "Apparently Stefan has a very interesting backstory" Sam rose an eyebrow, knowing not to fully believe what was about to be said seeing as it came from Damon.

"Do you know what happened with his ex-boyfriend Emmett and his sister Katherine?" Bonnie asked. "Yeah, they both dated him and that's why they have issues" Bonnie felt bad dropping this bomb on Sam, but she wanted him to know everyone's story before he fell deeper in love with the new kid.

"Yeah, they both dated her, only he chose Damon. And that drove Stefan mad, so he did horrible things to try and break them up. He manipulated Katherine to manipulate Emmett. He filled their heads with all these lies until finally, it worked, and he turned against Damon" Sam scoffed. "That sounds like Damon's bullshit".

"I just wanted you to know," Bonnie said. "His past relationships aren't any of my business" Sam remembered how Stefan never pushed him to talk about Tate, he respected Sam. "Unless he's a calculating, manipulative liar. That is your business" Sam shook his head. "That's not who Stefan is" He denied. "How do you know?"

SALVATORE BOARDING HOUSE:

"Do they still wear ties at these things?" Stefan and Damon were both getting ready for the dance. "Why are you even going?" Stefan questioned, extremely upset with his brother. "It's only fitting. We were at the very first one, remember?" Damon brought up the memory Stefan tried to forget.

"I think it's better if we don't draw attention to ourselves" Stefan looked at his brother, who was carefree per usual. "So you should stay here. I'll see to it that Sam has a good time" Damon faked surprise when Stefan was drinking. "My goodness, I've driven you to drink".

"Can't seem to rid myself of you. What else am I supposed to do, besides go about living my life?" Stefan brooded. "Go about living my life" Damon mocked. "See, therein lies your eternal struggle" Damon turned around from the mirror. "You're dead, dude. Get over it" Damon then held up a shirt. "What do you think?".

***

"It's cool not growing old. I like being the eternal stud" Damon was now dressed, but Stefan still had on his white tank-top, Damon admiring himself in the mirror per usual. "Yes, being a 150-year-old teenager has been the height of my happiness" Stefan retorted, a drink still in his hand.

Damon turned around from the mirror to face his little brother. "You cracked a funny, Stefan. I should have a drink to celebrate" Damon joked, going to the liquor before finding an old picture of Emmett. "1864. You and Emmett were the perfect couple. It was hell watching you dance with him".

"My happiness was short-lived, as you well know" Stefan also recalled. "I remember. I left the party early, I was waiting for him. The night you dropped him off, I was waiting just inside" Damon started to pour himself a drink. "You were such a gentleman, gave him a kiss on the cheek. And what he really wanted was...Oh, well. Here's to history repeating itself, huh?" Damon went to drink it, only to smell the vervain spiked in it and pour it on the ground.

"I admire your effort, Stefan. Pouring yourself a drink then spiking the bottle with vervain. I'm not some drunk sorority chick. You can't roofie me. But I can't help but feel a little used. I thought we were having a moment. I have to go to the party angry. Who knows what I'll do".

LOCKWOOD MANSION:

Sam was a bit nervous to be at the founder's event, especially when he knew that it was being hosted by his ex's parents. The two really liked Sam and Tate together, he hadn't seen them since the summer.

Stefan squeezed Sam's hand comfortingly as they arrived. Sam sent him a grateful smile as they walked hand-in-hand to the door where Mayor Lockwood had been greeting everyone. He frowned when he saw Sam not with Tate, but then put on a fake smile.

"Samuel, so glad to see you. And who's this?" He asked, gesturing to Stefan. "Stefan Salvatore" Stefan introduced himself. "Zach's nephew, right?" Stefan nodded. "Come on in" Stefan was able to enter now, the two still not letting go of each other's hands.

They looked around in awe, Stefan kissed Sam's cheek sweetly. The two had no idea Damon was watching in jealousy.

***

Sam had talked to a few people, Elena and Bonnie were hanging out together as the two were each other's dates.

Sam and Stefan were looking around, Sam read the first-ever registry out loud. "The founding families in Mystic Falls welcomes you to the inaugural founder's council celebration" He read, looking at it curiously.

"Look at all these names, I know a lot of their descendants. Sheriff William Forbes, Mayor Benjamin Lockwood, the original Jonathon Gilbert—" Sam stopped when he saw the oh-so-familiar names. "Damon and Stefan Salvatore?" Damon then showed up out of nowhere.

"The original Salvatore brothers. Our ancestors. A tragic story, actually" Caroline was right behind Damon, hugging Sam. "Look at you, all dressed up" She teased, making Sam's face heat up and make him feel uncomfortable.

"We don't need to bore them with stories of the past," Stefan told his brother, making sure he had a good grip on Sam's hand. "It's not boring, I like history. I'm surprised we haven't learned their story when we know almost every single founder's story" Sam spoke up, Damon a bit taken back by Sam's curiosity.

"Well, I'm bored. I want to dance. And Damon won't dance with me" Caroline pouted, Damon making a noise of agreement. "Could I borrow your date?" Caroline asked Sam. "Uh..." Sam didn't know how to answer, looking at Stefan with wide eyes. Sam didn't know if he wanted to be left with Damon.

"I don't really dance" Stefan slightly blurted, hoping he wouldn't have to leave Damon with Sam. "Oh, sure he does. You should see him. Waltz, the jitterbug, the moonwalk. He does it all" Damon corrected. "You wouldn't mind, right Sammy?" Caroline turned to her best friend.

"It's up to Stefan" Before Stefan could say no, he was dragged off by Caroline who "wouldn't take no for an answer", leaving Damon and Sam behind. It was extremely awkward for Sam, especially after Damon tried to kiss him.

"I want to apologize to you for being such a world-class jerk the other night when I tried to kiss you. There's no excuse. My therapist says I'm acting out, trying to punish Stefan" Sam didn't completely believe Damon. He was a good actor, but not good enough to fool Sam.

"For what?" Damon could sense the teen's skeptical demeanor, reminding him so much of Emmett. "It's all in the past. I don't even want to bring it up. Let's just say that the men in the Salvatore family have been cursed with sibling rivalry. And it all started with the original Salvatore brothers".

"So you're life mirrors theirs? Talk about history repeating itself" Sam mumbled. "The Salvatore name was practically royalty in this town. Until the war. There was a battle here—" Sam cut him off. "The Battle of Willow Creek" Damon tried to hide his surprise. "You know?" Sam smiled to himself, remembering that day in history class where Stefan and himself both showed up Mr. Tanner, the now deceased teacher/coach.

"There were 346 casualties, though the school forgets that there were 27 civilian casualties" Damon smiled.

"What the history books left out was the people that were killed. They weren't there by accident. They were believed to be union sympathizers. So some of the founders on the Confederacy side back then wanted them rounded up and burned alive. Stefan and Damon had someone they loved very much in that church. And when they went to rescue them, they were shot. Murdered in cold blood".

"Who was in the church that they tried to save?" Sam wondered. "A lover, I guess. Doesn't it always come down to the love of someone's life?" Sam frowned as he remembered what Bonnie said about what he told Caroline. Sam knew Damon still had major issues with Stefan and wanted to make sure he wasn't happy, which was completely and utterly ridiculous.

"Whatever's happening between you and Stefan, that's between you two. You don't need to try and bring me or Caroline into this" Sam looked Damon straight into his icy blue eyes. "I hope you two can work it out. I know what it's like to lose family, and even if you don't like them it will still hurt the same if you lose each other" Damon's eyes softened a bit. "Thank you".

***

Damon and Sam went to go meet up with Caroline and Stefan. "What did we miss?" Damon questioned, standing a bit too close to Sam in Stefan's mind. "We were just chatting, drink Damon?" Stefan offered the drink that he knew his brother would think would be spiked with vervain.

"No thanks, I'll pass" Sam smiled at Stefan. "Do you have another dance in you, Stef?" Stefan smiled widely. "Of course" The two went off to the dance floor, leaving Damon and Caroline behind.

"They look so cute together" Caroline sighed happily, enjoying the happiness radiating off Sam, it had been a long time since he had been this happy constantly. "Don't talk, please" Damon spat harshly, jealous that Stefan was in love with the man that mirrored the one they use to love.

Meanwhile, the two chatted as they danced. They ignored the few odd looks considering there weren't a lot of LGBTQ+ couples in Mystic Falls.

"I hope Damon didn't drive you too crazy" Stefan apologized. "No he was fine, he apologized actually. Saying it all had to do with your ex, Emmett" Stefan shot Damon a glare across the room, knowing well that his brother was listening in.

"Hmm" Stefan mumbled. "What happened?" Sam asked softly, trying not to push Stefan. But the words that Bonnie and Damon both said still irked him despite not wanting to believe it. "It's not something I like to talk about" Sam nodded.

"And that's okay, I just know that I burden you with all my issues and drama and I want you to know you can do the same with me" Sam ranted. "I know, thank you" Sam still felt like he didn't know much about Stefan, all he really knew was what he was being told.

"I just want to know who you are, and not what other people think" They stopped dancing, moving over to the side. "Damon said something, didn't he? He likes to play games and cause trouble, Sam" Sam shook his head, not knowing Damon was listening to the conversation.

"This isn't about Damon, Stef. I just feel like you're sometimes a stranger, I don't know much about you. All I know is what other people think and say about you, and that's not fair to build assumptions based off of their words" Sam explained.

"Don't you see what Damon has done here? He's trying to get you to turn against me" Sam shook his head, not believing what Stefan was saying. Sam just wanted to know who Stefan was and for it to come from Stefan himself. "I guess it's working" Damon watched as Sam walked away, meeting his little brother's eyes and smirking.

***

Elena, Bonnie, and Sam were inside eating ice cream that they had. "This is my fault. I planted doubt. I'm a doubt planter" Bonnie groaned at herself. "It's not your fault, Bonnie. I just feel like a douche for acting like that to Stefan, being annoying and getting in the middle of his shit" Elena shook her head.

"Don't blame yourself, Sam. You have every right to want to know these things, you were trying to give him a chance to explain his side instead of only knowing other people's. You were being a good person, most people wouldn't give him a chance to explain" Sam smiled, squeezing Elena's hand.

***

Sam went to the unisex powder-room where Caroline was. "Hey, Care" He greeted. "Hey, Sammy! How are things going with Stefan?" She asked. "Fine" He mumbled. "Really? Well, my radar must be off, 'cause I was getting all sorts of other vibes..." Sam noticed something on Caroline's neck that had been hidden by her scarf.

"What the hell?" Caroline's eyes widened. "What?" She tried to act casual. Sam tried to move her scarf, but she freaked out. "Don't!" Sam's eyes widened, lifting her scarf up to see bite marks. "Caroline, what happened?" Sam kept his voice calm so he wouldn't freak the girl out anymore.

"Nothing, okay!" Sam could tell Caroline was lying, she was completely terrified. "Did somebody hurt you?" Sam panicked. "No, okay, nothing. It just, my mom would kill me" Sam noticed something on her back, pulling her shawl over to see some bruises and bite marks there too.

"Did Damon hurt you?" Sam couldn't control the protectiveness and anger in his voice. "No! Of course not! Just leave me alone. Okay, Sam?!" Caroline stormed out. Sam went to follow her, only to run into Damon.

"Woah, what's the rush?" Damon jokes, only to be shoved hard by Sam. "Don't you dare come near Caroline again, asshat. If you even try to go near her again, I'll tell her mother, who's the fucking Sheriff. And if you ever leave even a tiny mark on her again—" Sam stepped closer to Damon, the dark look in his usual pure eyes made even the scary vampire a bit afraid. "You'll have me to deal with" Sam found Stefan.

"I'm so sorry, I'm such a dick, you were completely right about Damon" Stefan's eyes widened, searching for any injury on Sam. "What did he do?" Sam's hands were clenched into fists. "There are bruises and bite marks all over Caroline, she's terrified and confused" Sam then noticed the look on Stefan's face.

"You're not surprised" Stefan hesitated on what he would say. "I'm handling it" Sam looked at Stefan as if he was insane. "Handling it? We should go to the police" Sam exclaimed. "Sam, please. I don't expect you to understand" Sam scoffed. "Then please, explain. Make me understand" Stefan's eyes softened when he saw the true emotions of his boyfriend that were trying to be masked with anger. He was scared, terrified of losing his best friend, of seeing her hurt.

"Look, there are things that you don't know, okay? Things that I want to tell you, but I can't. And I may never be able to. And I just need you to trust me" Sam felt tears of frustration brim the corners of his whiskey-brown eyes. "Trust is earned. I'm gonna go find Caroline" Stefan was left by his boyfriend.

***

Bonnie, Elena, and Sam were all looking for Caroline. Sam found on the lawn outside where nobody was. "Caroline!" He cried out, rushing to her side. "What happened? We were looking everywhere for you? Are you okay?" He rambled, worried for the blonde.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Sam didn't believe her. "Care, What happened?" He softened his voice, holding back his emotions to take care of her. "I'm fine" Sam shook his head. "Care, you're shaking" Which was true, he could also tell she was trying not to cry.

"I'm scared, Sammy" Sam pulled her into a hug as she cried.

 


	6. FIVE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam is roped in by Caroline to help with the car wash. Sam later figures out Stefan's secret.

GILBERT RESIDENCE:

After waking up, Sam went to his joint bathroom with Jeremy only to find Vicki Donovan in there. "What the..." Vicki waved awkwardly. "Hey Vick, are you here with Jer?" Sam asked in confusion. "Yeah" Vicki felt almost as awkward as Sam. "Cool, tell Jer I said hi".

After using Elena's bathroom to get ready, Sam raced down the stairs to find Elena and Jenna in the kitchen. "Are you aware of what's going on upstairs?" Sam questioned. "Uh-huh" Jenna spoke, Elena on her phone. "You have nothing to say?"

"He could be craftier about it, at least make an effort to sneak her in and out. Oh, and just so you know, I won't be home for dinner" Sam was now intrigued by this new information, wiggling his eyebrows playfully.

"You're actually gonna go on a date with him? I thought you were more into teachers?" Sam questioned, remembering Jenna's last boyfriend who was a teacher at her old college.

"I'm going to show up and torture him, yes. And have you heard from Stefan?" Jenna questioned, proving that she wasn't the only one with complicated love stories.

"Not since a few days ago when he left that vague voice message" Sam then cleared his throat as he mocked Stefan.

" _Uh, hi Sam, I have something to do, um, I'll explain in a few days_ " Jenna and Elena both slightly laughed at his impression.

"Haven't you called him yet?" Elena asked. "No, and I'm not going to" Jenna and Elena shared a look. "And you're okay with it?" Sam sighed.

"Honestly, no. But I'm not gonna let this hold me back as I become a new person, a better version of myself. He left, I have no idea where he is. I just hope this bullshit with his brother is finally over" Apparently, it wasn't. Though our naive Sam wanted to believe so.

MYSTIC FALLS HIGH SCHOOL:

Sam, Bonnie, and Elena chatted in the hallways until they saw Caroline go by ordering the people following her around.

"The sexy suds car wash is tomorrow. The football team and the band have committed. Well, not all the band. Just the ones who could pull off the bikini. I want, in your face, sexy. I mean, it's a fund raiser, for god's sake" Caroline then waved at Sam and the girls before continuing on.

"Unbelievable, it's like nothing happened" Elena spoke, not understanding how Caroline was completely fine. "I can't believe she even still slightly cares about Damon, she still has a necklace he gave her" Bonnie added, making Sam shake his head.

"It's not her fault" They turned to Sam, unaware that Stefan had arrived and was listening. "We can't help who we fall in love with. Just because someone hurts you doesn't mean you love them any less, no matter how bad the damage was" They were silent for a few moments until Stefan walked over.

"Hi" Stefan greeted. "Hey. You know, we gotta go be somewhere, like right now" Bonnie and Elena scurried off to give the two lovebirds some space.

"I'm so sorry I haven't called" Stefan apologized. "It's fine, I get it. You were dealing with Damon I'm guessing?" Stefan smiled. "Yeah, I was. And you have every right to be upset with me. But can I explain it all to you? Please" Stefan begged slightly.

"Okay, when?" Sam rose an eyebrow. "I gotta be home after school, but The Grill, around four o'clock?" Sam pretended to think about it before nodding. "Sure" Caroline walked over cheerfully.

"Sammy!" She gave her best friend a hug before looking at Stefan. "Stefan, where is Damon? He has some serious apologizing to do" Both Sam and Stefan frowned. "He's gone, Caroline" The blonde cheerleader frowned.

"When is he coming back?" Stefan knew she was still under his compulsion and felt sorry for the girl, knowing that she had to be far away from Damon to stay safe.

"He's not coming back, I'm sorry" Stefan apologized. "It's a good thing, Care" Sam rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. "I know that".

MYSTIC GRILL:

Sam had been waiting at The Grill for over an hour for Stefan, the teenager passing time by hanging out with Matt and Tate. His ex and his sister's ex, it was a bit weird.

The three were playing pool. "And there's Vicki, all nonchalant in the bathroom like it's no big deal that they're hooking up," Sam told Matt, repeating Elena's exact words when they told Bonnie as they asked for advice.

"I'm not gonna lie, my ex-girlfriend's little brother and my older sister, that's weird" Tate nodded in agreement. Sam checked the time, growing.

"How late is he?" Tate questioned in concern. "Over an hour, but I refuse to talk boy problems with my ex and my sister's ex" Sam exclaimed, shooting the cue ball.

"Yeah, it's not like you and Tate were never best friends or anything" Matt joked. "And besides, Elena being Matt's ex-doesn't matter if you and Elena hang out with me, your ex" Tate agreed, Sam sighed.

"Okay, fine. What do you think about Stefan? Do you think he's a good guy?" Tate was confused while Matt got in overprotective brother mode, as he grew up with Sam and always looked out for him. "Why? What did he do? Did he hurt you?" Sam smiled at the blonde quarterback.

"No, he's just super secretive and mysterious, especially lately. I feel like he's hiding some huge-ass secret" Sam admitted. "Like what? Like that he's a serial killer and he keeps a clown suit in his trunk?" Matt joked while Tate observed.

"No, not like that. It's just...what do we all even really know about him?" Sam replied, not expecting for the words Tate was about to say.

"He's a great football player, he's a bit of a loner but you got him to branch out, he's a history buff like you, and he's always looking out for others. As much as I don't want to admit it, he's a great guy and I'm happy he's the one you're dating instead of some random douche" Tate explained, making Sam groan.

"I'm such an idiot" Sam buried his face in his hands when he realized he sounded stupid. "Just talk to him" And with that, Stefan showed up.

"Talk to who?" Sam jumped in surprise, almost landing on the floor before Stefan caught him. "I'm so sorry I'm late" Sam steadied himself before continuing the conversation.

"What happened?" Sam tried to sound calm. "There was this thing with my uncle" There he was, Stefan Salvatore being vague as usual. Maybe Sam did have the right to question Stefan since the only times he really spoke about his uncle was when he was using him as an excuse.

"And you couldn't text me to let me know you'd be an hour late?" Matt and Tate exchanged looks. "Okay, you two have fun" The boys left the two to bicker.

"I'm sorry, it was really unavoidable" If Stefan could just give a one-sentence explanation, like his uncle was having personal problems he would be able to understand, but Stefan wouldn't give reasons, he wouldn't explain why he left him all alone for an hour when he was the one to set up the meeting.

"What was unavoidable?" Stefan didn't answer, making Sam sigh. "Okay" Sam went to leave, but Stefan tried to stop him. "Sam, please..." Sam shook his head. "You don't get it, do you? You give vague responses and never actually tell me things. I get that it could be personal, but you've been doing this since we started dating. What's so awful that you refuse to talk about?" Before Stefan could even think about answering, an older man walked over to Stefan, not even acknowledging Sam.

"I know you. My God" The older man gasped. "I'm sorry?" Stefan tensed. "I know you, how can it be?" He spoke to himself. "I think you have the wrong person, sir" The man ignored Stefan's words. "You haven't aged a day" Sam shook his head, starting to walk away. "Excuse me" Stefan went after Sam.

"Sam, please—" Sam shook him off. "I have to get going, Jer needs help with his homework" Sam lied before leaving Stefan.

GILBERT RESIDENCE:

To distract himself from all of the emotions he was feeling, Sam drew as he tried to calm himself down. Distractions were one of the many techniques Sam used to calm himself when he was flooded with emotions.

Sam drew on autopilot a lot, Bonnie's grandma always said he was some sort of psychic being guided by spirits around him when he drew, he never believed it until he started putting together a lot of the drawings. Like the one he just drew, it was of Elena but with curly hair and a dress from what looked like the 1800s. He had often had dreams of this girl, but she was called Katerina while he was only addressed with a Bulgarian nickname he couldn't decipher.

**_(didn't draw that or any other drawings throughout the book, fwi)._ **

  
"Sam?" The teen boy put his notebook away as he heard a knock on his door. "Come in" Jeremy opened the door, smiling when he saw his older brother with glasses on, a black hoodie, and supernatural pajamas pants. Sam rarely wore his glasses, he only wore them sometimes at home where he knew nobody could make fun of him. Not even Caroline knew he had them, he just wore contacts.

"Look at you, dork" Jeremy teased, Sam smiled slightly. "You good? You only draw when you're upset" Jeremy's eyes met Sam's whiskey-colored one's. "I'm miserable" Jeremy chuckled at Sam being overdramatic. "Go get something to eat, Elena and I went to The Grill and got you some leftovers, they're downstairs," Jeremy told his brother before leaving to go to his own bedroom.

Sam sighed to himself, getting up and trudging downstairs only to be completely blindsided when he found Stefan downstairs cooking dinner, Jeremy and Elena never got him leftovers at all.

"Stefan, what are you doing here?" Sam's cheeks flushed in embarrassment when he realized what he was wearing. "Making Dinner. Jeremy told me that Spaghetti's one of your favorites, and I just so happen to be a good cook. I even made garlic bread, store-bought" Sam was still confused, a bit suspicious about what Stefan was trying to do.

"No, I mean why are you here?" He clarified for his sort-of boyfriend. "Well, I figured if you're gonna dump me, I should let you get to know me, you should at least know who you're dumping. So, let's start with Emmett..." Sam's eyes widened in shock that Stefan was actually opening up to Sam about one of the most important secrets. Sam felt bad for being mean to him, Stefan had to tell him in his own time and he shouldn't have rushed him.

"Stefan, you don't need to. I'm sorry for pushing you—" Stefan cut him off. "No, it's time I needed to tell you" Sam took a deep breath, nodding before taking in everything Stefan told him.

"Emmett was one of the most attractive guys I had ever met. He had these stunning eyes that showed every single emotion he felt. And he could make anyone around him feel loved and appreciated, and his idea on life was always about his family, his sister Katherine. He always said they were going to be together ' _always and forever'._ He hated making other people feel bad about themselves" Stefan smiled to himself before frowning when he got to the deep stuff.

"But with his dedication to his family lead him to be easily manipulated by Katherine. She wanted to make Damon and I fall in love with her but realized Sam was the one they liked" Sam frowned, he couldn't believe that someone would do that.

"Enter Damon. He claims that he was with Emmett first. I don't know. I do know that I did some things that, I'm not proud of. And my biggest regret is not being able to make it right before he died. I miss Emmett, but I'm no longer crippled by his loss" Stefan finished as he continued to cook.

Sam smiled, starting to help Stefan as the youngest Salvatore brother kept explaining who he was. "I'm an avid reader, a huge Fitzgerald fan, 'The Great Gatsby', his masterpiece. But I'm no snob. I love some good Grisham. I think 'Seinfeld' is the best American television show for the past 50 years, but 'I Love Lucy' is all-time. 'The loving cup' episode was the best, I think. Huge Scorsese fan. I can watch 'Taxi Driver' over and over again" Sam laughed as he continued to help Stefan.

"As far as music, it's pretty much across the board. Um, Dylan, Hendrix, Patsy, Willie. A little Kanye. You know what? I even like that one Miley song" Sam tried to hold back a laugh, never expecting Stefan to like Kanye or even Miley Cyrus. "Hey!" Stefan feigned hurt when he saw the look of Sam's face. "I didn't say anything!"

Stefan went to the sink while Sam was cutting up garlic, accidentally cutting his finger slightly in the process. When Sam looked at Stefan through the mirror, he swore he saw dark veins under his eyes, but then they disappeared. "I'm hallucinating" Sam mumbled to himself before cleaning up his wound.

SEXY SUDS CAR WASH:

"No friend discounts. No freebies. No pay ya laters. We are not running a charity here. No, we are not!" Caroline had Sam come early to set up, Elena and Bonnie were cleaning cars while Caroline was instructing Sam on what not to do.

"No, we are not!" Sam repeated, making Caroline smile widely. "Oh look, you're epic love is here" Sam spun around and saw Stefan walking over. After having dinner with Stefan the night before, the two had agreed to stay together.

"Hi" Sam smiled widely, showing off his dimples which made both Caroline and Stefan smile. "The event is called sexy suds, you know. Both of you!" Caroline scolded at their attire, both wearing clothes that weren't up to her standard. She then walked away, checking up and generally scolding other people.

"Did we just get scolded?" Stefan asked once Caroline was gone. "Caroline takes these things very seriously, they add onto her resume report for Miss Mystic Falls" Sam spoke proudly.

Stefan was wearing a jacket with a shirt under it, Stefan took off his jacket and set it aside. His biceps made Sam's eyes widened. "You?" Stefan rose an eyebrow, reminding the boy he had to be slightly stripped, and not wearing basketball shorts and a hoodie. "Fine" Sam took his hoodie off, the boy had forgotten to put a shirt on under it so he was shirtless, unknowing to him but not to Stefan, people were staring in shock and awe.

Sam being shirtless had never been seen, and nobody expected the scrawny looking kid who used to be chubby to have abs. He had worked out a lot over the summer to get out his anger, which prompted this. Stefan smiled widely and kissed Sam on the lips.

***

Sam had been washing cars with Stefan but was put on cash register duty. As he did, the next person just so happened to be the older man from The Grill that had approached Stefan yesterday. "That'll be $20" Sam hesitated to ask the man, but finally did.

"I saw you last night, you talked to a friend of mine at The Grill?" Sam mentioned. "Well...I thought it was someone else" He hesitated. "Stefan Salvatore" The man shook his head. "Nah, it can't be. It's just my mind playing tricks on me" The man shook his head. "Where do you think you've seen him before?" Sam questioned.

"When I first moved here, I stayed at the Salvatore boarding house" He spoke. "Stefan was just passing through to visit his uncle. I mean, none of us knew he was even here until the attack" Sam tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"His uncle got killed. Mauled by an animal in the wood" Sam was confused, the only uncle Stefan talked about was the one he lived with. "His Uncle? Zach?" The old man shook his head. "Joseph" Stefan never mentioned someone by the name of Joseph. "I'm sorry, sir. I've never heard the story" Sam said. "Oh, how could you? I mean, this happened years ago" Tiki, a girl from their school, walked over to the older man.

"Grandpa, you gotta go. Mom wants you home. Okay?" Tiki then turned to Sam, looking at his chest for a second before recovering. "He wasn't bugging you, was he? He's a little alzy-heimer" Tiki apologized. "No, he was sweet" Sam reassured her, but then pulling the older man to the side.

"Hey, sir, I'm sorry. Um, are you sure that the man that you saw, that you knew, his name was Stefan Salvatore?" He nodded. "Yes. I remember his ring and his brother..." Sam knew he was getting somewhere. "Damon?" The man made a face of realization. "Yeah, Stefan and Damon Salvatore" Sam was being a detective, and he was about to uncover the truth.

"It was early June 1953. Yeah. June 1953".

TV STATION:

After convincing Logan Fell to let him go through the archives, they went to the TV Station. "We digitized all our archives last year. You can pull all the remote footage right up on the screen. What is it exactly you're looking for?" Sam lied and said he needed stuff for his history project.

"An incident from 1953 at the old Salvatore boarding house" Logan's phone started to ring, he answered it. "Sorry, one second. Yeah? Fire? All right, be right there. I gotta go" He hung up. "You believe there's actual news to cover in this town? All right, use keywords to search the database. It's pretty easy to navigate. And Brady down in tech will help you out with anything you need" Logan said goodbye before he left. Sam then searched the date and found the video footage.

_"This is Franklin Fell reporting to you from the Salvatore Boarding House, where a brutal animal attack has ended in tragedy. Ok, they're bringing out the bodies. See if you can get closer. Is that the nephew?"_

And there he was, Stefan Salvatore in the 1950s.

SALVATORE BOARDING HOUSE:

Stefan was freaking out, Zach was dead and Damon was gone. He rushed to the front door and swung it open, not expecting Sam Gilbert to be at the other end with tears cascading from his whiskey-colored eyes down his pale cheeks.

Sam wanted Stefan to prove him wrong, he wanted Stefan to explain that he just looked like his ancestor, that it was just a coincidence and Sam was so silly to think that he wasn't human. But the evidence all pointed to him not being human.

"What are you?"  
  
  


**_It was at this moment he knew, he fucked up._ **

 


	7. SIX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam lets Stefan explain his side of the story and is conflicted on what to do with this new information.

SALVATORE BOARDING HOUSE:

"What are you?" Sam repeated, his hands trembling as his anxiety kept spiking. "Sam—" The teen ignored his boyfriend's words and started rambling. "Please tell me it isn't true, that you weren't alive in the 1950s. Please tell me that you aren't some immortal guy who's family is notorious for getting killed by animal attacks!" Sam exclaimed.

"It's true. Everything's going to change, Sam" Sam shook his head. "I'm a vampire" Sam couldn't believe what he was hearing. Sam's initial thought was that he was some immortal witch who just hated blood or a blood-addicted demon creature.

"I shouldn't have come" Sam rushed to his beloved car, only to stop when Stefan miraculously showed up in front of him using his super speed to show Sam that he was a vampire.

Sam covered his mouth to muffle a scream, rushing inside his car and driving away from the guilt-ridden/heartbroken vampire.

GILBERT RESIDENCE:

Sam rushed straight to his room, ignoring the questions he retained from his family. After slamming and locking the door, Sam started sobbing, throwing one of his pillows only for it to be caught by Stefan who had pulled an Edward Cullen and got into his room through the window.

Sam held in his scream so he wouldn't alert his family and possibly get them killed by the unpredictable creature in front of him.

Sam grabbed the wooden stake that was engraved with ' ** _Gilbert_** ' on the side, given to him by his father who he always thought was just a love for mythology.

"Sam, I'm not gonna hurt you!" Stefan put his hands up to show that. He had seen the wooden stake in Sam's room before, Sam said that it was passed down to the eldest in each family, he had received it as a present on his thirteenth birthday.

"Stay away from my family!" Sam stood in front of the door, showing that he would attack if Stefan tried going for them. Both boys knew in the state Sam was in, he wouldn't be able to, but wasn't one to not try.

"Sam, Sam—" When Stefan heard he was hyperventilating, he ran inhuman speed to Sam's side. Despite the fact that he was thrashing, Stefan got the boy to calm down. "Sam, you need to look at me. I'm not going to hurt you, I would never hurt you. You will be okay, your family will be okay. You need to breathe, normally" Sam calmed himself down by using what he normally did when things happened, taught to him by his therapist after the crash.

As cheesy as this sounds, he went to what people called 'their happy place'. It was more of a location where Sam could remember only good things happening, no events that could pop up and cause even more stress.

For Sam, it was at his family lake house at Dunham Lake. Sam remembered so many good memories there, that nothing bad ever popped up.

He remembered the laughter, the waves of the lake, his mother helping him practice football, and his father teaching him and his siblings how to throw stones.

Sam calmed himself down. Not entirely, but enough to be able to think a bit more logically. "The animal attacks—" Stefan shook his head. "Those were Damon!" Stefan corrected.

"Damon?" Sam completely forgot about Stefan's brother who was obviously the same thing Stefan was. The elder Salvatore always seemed a bit sinister in Sam's opinion, but he always dismissed it as him trying to be the 'bad boy'.

"Yes. I don't drink human blood to survive, but Damon does. I'll explain everything to you, I promise. Just please, don't tell anyone" Stefan knew it wasn't fair for him to ask that of Sam, but he knew how it could potentially turn out if people knew just like it did in the 1800s.

"Why?" Stefan's heart broke, even more, when Sam's lip quivered. "Because you knowing puts you in a lot of danger, for many reasons. You can hate me all you want, but you have to trust me on this" Sam nodded. "Please, leave" Stefan sighed, smiling sadly before disappearing. Though, he did hear the sobs of Sam before he completely vanished.

MYSTIC GRILL:

The next day, Sam reluctantly agreed to meet Stefan at the grill. Sam knew that Stefan couldn't try anything in public unless he wanted to be caught. They chose to sit outside at the time of Day where nobody was really around due to being at work or vacation(it was the early break for their school).

"You said if I met you here, you would explain. So go ahead" Stefan could obviously tell that Sam barely got any sleep the previous night. Dark bags accompanied under his whiskey-brown eyes, his hair was still a bit of a mess, he didn't bother to change his clothes from the day before, and he looked like he was gonna break at any moment. Anybody would, given the situation.

"Animal blood keeps me alive, but not as strong as Damon. He can be very powerful" Caroline's relationship with Damon hit him, realizing what this could have meant. "You let him around Caroline even though you knew how dangerous he is?" Sam's trust in Stefan was deteriorating by the moments.

"Forcing Damon not to do something is much more dangerous, believe me," Stefan kept calm, though he hated that he didn't try to do much anyways. "He was feeding on her. He was able to take away her memories of being bitten using a form of mind compulsion. She never knew what was happening to her. If he wanted to kill her, he would have" Sam shook his head.

"And that's supposed to make it all better? The trauma is still there whether she remembers or not. She was still put in danger, you said it yourself, he's powerful. He could've killed her with a single impulsive thought" The thought of his favorite blonde being abused and killed made his blood boil.

"No, none of this is okay. I know that Sam" When Stefan didn't get a verbal response, he continued. "There was a time when this town was, very much aware of vampires, and it didn't end well for anybody. That's why it's important that you don't tell anyone" Sam shook his head.

"I can't promise that" Sam lied. No matter what, he wouldn't tell Stefan's secret. There were so many factors to it, especially putting his family in danger for knowing.

Stefan heard the boy's heart skip a beat, silently thankful that he wouldn't share his secret.

"Sam. Give me today. I will answer any questions that you have, and when it's over, you can decide for yourself what you wanna do with what you know. It'll be your choice" Sam agreed.

WOODS:

Sam and Stefan arrived at the location Stefan planned to show Sam, making the boy suspicious seeing as it was in the middle of nowhere.

"I want to show you something," Stefan said once they got out of Sam's jeep. "In the middle of nowhere? Are you going to kill me?" Stefan smiled. "I'm not going to kill you, Sam. And this didn't use to be 'the middle of nowhere'. This use to be my home" Stefan gestured to the ruins of the old Salvatore Estate.

"This looks super old" Sam mumbled before his eyes widened, looking at Stefan in shock. "How old are you?" Sam panicked. "I've been 17 since 1864" If this was a cartoon, Sam's jaw would've gone straight to the ground.

"Holy shit, you're old" Sam blurted, making Stefan chuckle. "You said you wanted to know. I'm not gonna hold anything back. Half a century before the boarding house was even built, this was my family's home. Damon and I, we were both born here. The Salvatore brothers, best friends".

FLASHBACK, SALVATORE ESTATE, 1864:

_Stefan and Damon were outside their home, running around with a football. "Wait. Where did you learn this game?" A very human Stefan questioned his older brother._

_"Camp outside Atlanta. One of the officers picked it up at Harvard. Catch" Stefan caught the football. "Wait a minute. Wait a minute. What are the rules? What are the rules?" The two then play-struggled to get and keep the ball._

_As if on cue, Katherine and Emmett Pierce walked out of the Boarding House, Katherine gingerly held her younger twin brother's hand._

_"Who needs rules?" Both Salvatore brother's stopped what they were doing to look over at the siblings, Katherine smirking when she saw them looking over at Emmett._

_"Mind if my brother joins you?" Katherine offered, making Emmett blush shyly. Stefan looked at Emmett, smiling to himself when he saw how shy he was._

_"Uh, well, you could, uh, you could get hurt. My brother likes to play rough" Katherine thought it was adorable that Stefan was acting like a true gentleman, yet had no idea that Emmett could rip both of their heads off easily._

_"Somehow, I think you play rougher" Emmett finally spoke, making Stefan's smile widen. Katherine nudged her brother, urging him to go play._

_Emmett did so, stealing the ball from Stefan and smiling at him before running off. Stefan didn't know what to do, he just stared at the boy in awe._

_Damon walked over to his brother's side, ready to tease him. "Why are you just standing there? That's someone who clearly wants to be chased. If you don't do it, I will" The two laughed before chasing after the younger Pierce twin._

_A smirk wove its way onto Katherine's lips. The brunette loved to mess with others. She tried to get the brothers to be attracted to her, but their eyes went straight to Emmett. It seemed like her brother had a thing for attracting siblings, and Katherine was there to toy the two into playing the game._

PRESENT DAY, SALVATORE ESTATE:

"Wait....what?" Sam was thrown off by the information he just received. "You knew Emmett in 1864? Damon talked as if it just happened" Stefan shook his head. "Damon was trying to make you think that I was still heartbroken. He saw that I was happy with you, and he wanted to ruin it" Sam couldn't believe that their brotherly bond was destroyed by a love triangle.

"All because you were in love with the same guy centuries ago?" Sam said, completely bewildered. Stefan looked at Sam, he unknowingly shared the same face as Emmett. Stefan knew the same thing was starting again, but there was no chance that he would allow the ending to be the same.

"He wasn't just some guy".

FLASHBACK, SALVATORE ESTATE 1864:

_Stefan had been chasing Emmett through the garden maze, something the two seemed to do quite often since Emmett and Katherine moved in with them._

_Katherine watched with a smile when Emmett reached a statue and got excited. "I win!" Stefan laughed, the two genuinely enjoying themselves as they always did._

_When Katherine saw Damon approaching the two, she joined and stuck by Emmett's side. "They extended your leave?" Stefan asked his elder brother. "I was simply having too much fun to return to battle" Damon joked. "Your commitment to the Confederacy is inspiring," Stefan remarked sarcastically before the two embraced in a brotherly hug._

_"Well, this works out wonderfully for us" Katherine commented as the two broke their hug. "How is that, Miss Katherine?" Damon asked politely, though his eyes seemed to wander over to Emmett._

_"Now I will have both of you to keep my dear brother entertained. First and foremost, my brother will need someone to accompany him to the Founder's Ball. I have myself a date with Benjamin Forbes which leaves Emmett all alone" Stefan and Damon both perked up at the offer._

_"With pleasure" "I will be honored" Both spoke at the same time, making Katherine smirk once more. "The smart and kind Salvatore brothers both coming to your rescue, брат(brother). However, will you choose?"_

PRESENT DAY, SALVATORE ESTATE:

"What happened? It's not like you could've dated in public, gay relationships were forbidden back then, right?" Sam recalled.

"Katherine, she always found loopholes. Emmett chose me. I escorted him to the ball at the original Lockwood mansion" Stefan smiled to himself as he reminisced on the few good moments of that day.

"Where you signed the registry" Stefan nodded, a guilty look then crossing his face. "I didn't care that I had gotten something that my brother wanted. I didn't even care if it hurt him. I only knew that I wanted Emmett" He admitted.

"That's what all of this is about, why he won't let you be happy? Because he's angry?" Sam furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "That's the thing about Damon. He doesn't get mad. He just gets even".

***

"What Damon wants, Damon usually gets. I didn't know it at the time but turns out that night, Emmett was with him, too" Stefan slightly flinched when he remembered what happened, Sam took note of that.

"So, he stole him from you? Not the other way around?" Stefan shook his head once more. "Turns out, he wasn't ours to steal".

FLASHBACK, SALVATORE ESTATE 1864:

_Stefan smiled as he said goodnight to Sam, the two had secretly kissed and they were both shy about it._

_Stefan went to retreat to his bed when he was approached by Katherine. "I wish to speak to you, Mr. Salvatore. It is about my brother" The two went to Stefan's room._

_"Is everything alright, Miss Pierce? Is Emmett okay?" Stefan worried. "You fancy him, correct?" Katherine smirked when Stefan nodded. "I will love him forever" The brunette rose an eyebrow._

_"Forever is a long time, you know" Katherine waited for the human's response. "Not long enough" Katherine got the exact response she wanted without compulsion, making her extract her fangs and feed on the innocent Stefan._

_In the morning, Stefan woke in fright at the face the girl had shown while feeding. Emily, Katherine's handmaiden, was in the room as well. "Clear the room, please. Do not let my brother know what happened" Katherine told Emily who complied, leaving the room._

_"You're upset" Katherine spoke in an amused tone at Stefan's fear. "Your face, it was like a demon" Stefan managed to mumble, still scared._

_"But you are not afraid" She then compelled him. "It doesn't change how you feel about my brother, you will not tell anyone" Stefan tried to speak, but he couldn't._

_"This will not change anything, you will go on exactly as you were with my brother" Katherine finished. "We will go on" Stefan replied in monotone. "You have no idea of the future I have planned for you, Emmett, and Damon. My brother gets to choose who makes him the happiest, think of it as a game. No rules"._

PRESENT DAY, SALVATORE ESTATE:

Sam frowned when he heard what Stefan had been through. He knew how Stefan felt being scared, it's how he still felt.

"She could control my mind and Damon's, Emmett could too. Katherine compelled each of us to keep the secret from the other. Katherine wanted her brother to toy with us. Forever. Didn't work out that way, but Damon and I...it looks like we're stuck with each other. Like it or not" Stefan pulled out Damon's daylight ring.

"That's Damon's ring, right?" Sam asked, looking at Stefan's and noticing the resemblance. "I took it from him, but I have to give it back" Sam looked at him as if he was insane. "After everything, he's done? Why would you do that?" Sam spazzed.

He could tell that Stefan was telling the truth, something inside of him still trusted the vampire despite everything. And he could tell how dangerous and scary Damon was, after everything he had done to Caroline he didn't want the guy running around in public.

"Sam, if I don't give it to him, he'll retaliate in the only way that he knows he can hurt me. By hurting you" Sam was a bit shocked, it never hit him that Stefan truly cared that much that he was the one thing that could be used against him.

***

"That mind control that Katherine did, did you ever do that to me?" Sam asked as they walked, stopping when Stefan did.

"No. The bracelet I gave you contains vervain. It protects humans from compulsion. I wanted you to be protected from not only Damon but me as well. Don't ever take the bracelet off, Sam. No matter what ends up happening today, no matter what you choose what happens next, it will all be because of you. It will be your own choice, your own free will".

GILBERT RESIDENCE:

Sam and Stefan arrived at Sam's home, not expecting the reck that they arrived at. "What's going on?" Sam questioned when he saw Matt, Jeremy, Elena, and a sick Vicki in his house.

"She's really messed up" Everyone was scrambling around the house, leaving the two alone for a moment with Vicki. "Oh god" Sam's heart broke at how destroyed Vicki appeared. He had grown up with her, she was always nice to him, he wouldn't have ever wanted this to happen.

"Sam, back up," Stefan told him in a soft voice. Sam did so when he noticed that the visible symptoms didn't look like they were from any kind of drugs Vicki could've taken.

"Vicki, look at me. Focus. You're gonna be fine. Everything's gonna be fine" He compelled quietly before turning to the people who were grabbing stuff. "Guys, take her up to bed. Shut the blinds" The three ignorant humans did so. "Sam, she's going to be okay" He reassured his sort-of boyfriend, maybe ex.

"It's not drugs, is it?" Sam realized. "She's in transition," Stefan said bluntly, not wanting to dance around the truth. "Into a vampire?" Sam lowered his voice. "Damon must have gotten to her. She's new. She hasn't completed her transformation yet. She has to feed on human blood" Sam's eyes widened at the horror and reality of this situation.

"What happens if she doesn't?" Sam's hands were shaking like they had done when Stefan revealed the truth about himself. "She'll die. She may only have a few hours" Sam's eyes widened.

"She's upstairs with Matt, Jeremy, Elena...." Sam stopped breathing for a second until he felt Stefan's hand intertwine with him.

"It's ok. She doesn't know what's happening to her yet. Right now, she doesn't remember anything. A part of her is still human, but slowly, the deeper she gets into the transition, the memories will start to come back, and then she'll know she has to make the choice".

Vicki had disappeared, Stefan promised to find her before leaving. Matt left also so that he could look for her, leaving the Gilbert trio at their home.

"Maybe we should check in with Matt" Jeremy spoke up, panicking at the dramatic disappearance of the girl he was in love with.

"He'll call when he finds her" Elena reassured him, eyes looking over at Sam once in a while to make sure he was okay. Call it twin powers(like Sam does), but she could tell something happened with Stefan. She didn't want to ask him about it, but she was worried about him. It was something the Gilbert's often dealt with.

"Well, what are we suppose to do?" Jeremy exclaimed, feeling helpless. "We wait. We're supposed to wait" Elena spoke calmly.

Jeremy sat next to his older brother on the couch. "I don't know what's wrong with her" Sam was the only one who did, along with the Salvatore's. He felt incredibly guilty that he couldn't tell them, but it was for the best.

Sam squeezed his brother's hand comfortingly, Elena joining in on a small sibling group hug. "It will be okay, Jer. She will be okay" They sat like that for a few moments before the doorbell rang, ending the comforting silence.

"I got it" Sam mumbled, getting up and opening the door to find Damon standing there with a smirk. Jeremy and Elena walked over to see Sam staring blankly at the elder Salvatore.

"Elena, take Jeremy upstairs" Jeremy went to protest, but Elena got him upstairs. This left Sam face-to-face with the scarier vampire who could sense his fear.

"I'm guessing that my little brother fessed up, I can smell your fear from a mile away" Damon mocked. "What are you doing here?" Damon pushed pass Sam, entering the house he was already invited inside of.

"We can cut to the chase if you want, Sammy. I'm not gonna kill you right now. That wouldn't serve my greater agenda. So, where's dear 'Ol Stefan? Give him the boot already?" Sam glared at Damon.

"Out looking for Vicki" Damon rolled his own eyes at the look he received. "Don't look at me with those judgy little eyes. Girl's gonna thank me for what I did to her" Sam clenched his fist.

"Stefan isn't here, so this visit doesn't serve you a purpose" Sam was moments away from having a full-on breakdown. After the day he was having, it was expected. He was good at faking his emotions to others, but he couldn't take it anymore. His 'tough guy' act was starting to fade.

"Tell my brother I'm looking for him. Oh, a tip for later, be careful who you invite in the house" Damon spoke before leaving.

***

Stefan came back to the Gilbert house. "I couldn't stop her, I tried. I'm sorry, Sam" Sam's eyes widened. "What?" Stefan sighed. "She fed, and then I lost her" Sam gasped for air, it felt like the wind was knocked right out of him.

"I'll take care of it. I'll find her, and I will show her that she can live as I do. I will make sure that she does not hurt anybody, Sam. I promise you" Sam leaned onto the wall for support as he caught his breath.

"I can't do this, I can't put myself or the people I care about in danger. I won't tell anyone about you and your brother, I promise you. But I can't do this, Stefan. I'm scared, and I hate feeling like this. I have to put myself first for once. I love you, but you have to leave" Stefan did so.

As the door closed behind him, Sam then fell onto the ground and let himself sob even though he knew Stefan could hear.

Jenna had just arrived home, finding Sam sobbing on the ground. "Sam!" She rushed to his side, letting the boy cry on her shoulder with no questions asked.


	8. SEVEN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elena finds out about vampires. It's a race against the clock to try and stop the newly turned Vicki Donovan before she hurts anyone else.

MYSTIC FALLS HIGH SCHOOL:

Vicki Donovan was out on the loose. Sam didn't think she would full-on attack someone, but she did. Vicki Donovan tried to attack his own sister, Elena Gilbert. This led to the reveal of the supernatural to the other Gilbert twin. She took the day off of school to recuperate after everything.

Caroline walked over to Bonnie and Sam who were at their lockers, holding two bags. "I have our Halloween costumes!" She cheered, handing both their designated bag.

Bonnie frowned when she saw that Caroline gave her a witch costume. Sam, on the other hand, smiled when he saw that Caroline got him a Sam Winchester costume. It came with the basic flannel, Ruby's knife, a fake FBI badge, and a temporary tattoo of the anti-possession symbol. Sam laughed, thanking her. But Caroline frowned when she noticed that Bonnie didn't like the joke.

"Come on. Can someone please be excited that it's Halloween? I just wanna have fun, you know, just some silly, fluffy, Damon free fun" Caroline announced, making Sam feel guilty as he remembered what he had done to Caroline.

As the two looked more at what she gave them for their costumes, Bonnie pulled out a familiar necklace. "Hey, isn't this the one you got from Damon?" Bonnie mentioned.

"Yep. Wear it. Toss it. I don't care. I just want it gone" Caroline then noticed the other Gilbert wasn't around. "Sammy, where's Elena? What is she wearing?" Caroline questioned.

"She's not feeling well, I have no idea if she going to come tonight" He lied. Caroline frowned, upset that the entire group might not be there together. "Care, it will all turn out fine, trust me" Oh, how wrong Sam was.

GILBERT RESIDENCE:

Stefan informed the two Gilbert's that Vicki was on the loose once more, and their main focus was keeping Jeremy safe away from her.

"You gotta call me, Vic. I don't get it. What's going on with you? Just...just call me please" Jeremy left the message on her voicemail before hanging up, not realizing that the older twins were near until he saw them.

"Do you wanna go to the Halloween party at school? It may help to get your mind off things" Sam offered, knowing Vicki couldn't try much if they were out in public.

"Cool. Sure. Sounds uh...sounds fun. Can't wait" Jeremy spoke dryly, obviously being sarcastic. Sam groaned, looking at his sister as he silently pleaded for her help.

"We know you're upset about Vicki. Sam told me that she called Matt. But you can't be with her. She needs to get better. The best thing you can do for her is let her go for now" Jeremy grew angry that his siblings were trying to dictate his life.

"What does that even mean, 'let her go'? Oh, okay, sure. Since we're such experts on letting people go, right?" Jeremy spat. "Jeremy, I know it doesn't seem like it but it's the best thing for both of you right now. You're both not in a completely healthy place and you both need to heal on your own" Sam's words triggered Jeremy's anger even more.

"Look, for months after mom and dad died, I felt like crap, like 'nothing really even mattered' crap. Now all of a sudden, I get these moments and things started to feel just a little bit better, and Vicki was in every single of 'em. So you two may not see it, but trust me. Keeping me away from her is not for the best" Jeremy exclaimed, leaving his siblings to go to his room.

"Goddamnit," Sam groaned, running his hand through his hair. "Sam, what are we going to do?" Elena didn't understand much about the supernatural yet, but she knew from common knowledge that it wasn't safe for Jeremy to be anywhere near Vicki, especially after she almost attacked her.

"We're going to do what we always do" Elena rose an eyebrow. "And what's that?" Sam smiled nervously, pulling out his wooden stake that wouldn't be questioned considering he was dressing up as a monster hunter. "We're gonna wing it".

MYSTIC FALLS HIGH SCHOOL:

They had somehow been able to get Jeremy to come with them, he changed his mind randomly. So, the three siblings went to the Halloween party together. Elena as a nurse, and Jeremy with a black hoodie.

"Sam, you made it!" Tate spoke, previously talking with Matt before greeting Sam. The two stood with Matt, Jeremy, and Elena. Matt was a doctor while Tate was a cop.

"Sam, who are you supposed to be? Yourself with weapons?" Matt questioned, noticing the few fake weapons he had, but the stake was real.

"I'm Sam Winchester, monster hunter" When Matt looked confused, Sam groaned. "Seriously? You haven't seen it either?" Matt just chuckled before looking over at Jeremy. "And you're going as...you?" Jeremy made a small grumble noise before walking off.

"He's not talking to us, we got into a fight," Elena told Matt, making sure he didn't feel bad for upsetting Jeremy. "Yeah, I got into it with Vic too, when she got home. I'm trying not to smother her tonight, but part of me didn't wanna let her out of my sight" Sam and Elena froze.

"She's here?" Both twins panicked. "Yeah, you can't miss her. She's a vampire" Sam then noticed that Jeremy was gone. "Jeremy!" Elena's eyes widened. "Elena, Sam, what's wrong?" Tate asked worriedly. "We...gotta go!" Sam exclaimed, grabbing his sister before running off.

The two split up, Sam ran around until he sensed something was wrong in his gut. He didn't know how, but he had a feeling that something was wrong.

Taking out his stake, he followed his instinct to an empty area where there was a vampire fight going on with Vicki. When Sam saw his siblings in danger, he acted on impulse.

Vicki had Elena, threatening to bite her if Stefan came near her. She was too focused and too new to use her hearing to know that someone was behind her.

Sam took the stake and shoved it straight into her heart, not realizing what he had done until Elena was out of Vicki's grip safely, but the vampire he knew when she was human, was dead. She dropped to the ground as her skin turned a gray color and veins were everywhere on her skin.

"Vicki! Vicki! Vicki!" He heard his brother scream, but Stefan held the youngest Gilbert back. "Get them out of here!" Sam managed to say to Stefan, who did so but not before calling Damon.

"What?"

"I need your help" Stefan looked over at Sam who was softly crying and shaking while looking at Vicki's body.

***

It was not that long after that Damon showed up, he had been at the party already and found Sam by Vicki's body, he was shaking.

"You should go, I got this" Damon looked at the stake, noticing it had 'Gilbert' carved on it. "Wait, you killed her?" Damon was actually shocked, he figured it had been Stefan but not Sam. It just didn't fit who he was. Sam was ready to protect the people he loved, but nobody thought he would ever end up killing.

"I killed her" Sam mumbled, still not understanding what was going on and how he should react. Aside from the few tears, he felt utterly numb.

"Sam, go home" But he didn't hear Damon, stuck in his mind, filled with guilt for his action. "Sam, Sam!" Damon shook the boy to get his attention. "I've got this, go home" Taking one last look at Vicki's dead corpse, he nodded. "Thank you" He muttered before leaving.

GILBERT RESIDENCE:

When Sam arrived at his house, Jeremy refused to talk to him. He called Sam, 'a monster'. Despite Elena reassuring that he wasn't, Sam's baby brother's words stuck to him.

So Sam sat on the porch with Stefan as Elena took care of Jeremy. "Sam, you are not a monster. You saved your sister, it was in defense" Sam shook his head, tears clouding his vision slightly.

"I've known Vicki since I was a baby" Sam looked at Stefan who wore a look of sympathy. "She helped me learn how to read chapter books, she helped me learn how to defend myself. How did I repay her? I killed her" Sam looked down at his feet.

"Sam—" Stefan's hand laid on Sam's. "What can I do to help? I'll do anything" Sam remembered when Stefan explained how vampires could compel humans, how they could make them forget or do something.

"Can you make him forget?" The broken sobs of his little brother could be heard as they sat on the porch. Jeremy was even more broken now that he had lost another person in his life. Jeremy couldn't deal with that and the supernatural, he couldn't.

"If I did it, there's no guarantee that it would work because of who I am. Because of how I live. I don't have the ability to do it right" Stefan admitted, Sam nodded in defeat.

"I can do it" Both teens looked up to see Damon arriving at the Gilbert home unexpectedly.

Damon had felt a sliver of guilt and sympathy when he saw how Vicki's demise affected Sam. Maybe it was the fact that he unknowingly shared the same face and personality of the only person he ever loved, but it broke him just as it did in 1864 when he saw Emmett sad.

"If this is what you want, I'll do it" Stefan tensed, not knowing what his brother's motive was. This wasn't like the Damon he knew, making him realize that he does feel something towards Sam because of Emmett.

Elena then walked out, having heard the conversation. Sam went to her side, looking at her as if he was silently asking her if it was okay. Elena nodded, giving Sam his answer. "It's what I want, what we want" Sam squeezed Elena's hand.

"What do you want him to know?" Damon's eyes stayed on Sam the entire time. "That Vicki left town, and she's not coming back—" Sam almost started crying, but squeezed Elena's hand to compose himself.

"That he shouldn't look for her or worry too much. He'll miss her, but he knows it's for the best" Damon nodded, leaving to go do so. When Elena noticed the look Stefan was giving Sam, she squeezed her brother's hand for the last time before leaving to give them time.

"I wish I could forget, a part of me wants to. To forget everything that's happened" Sam admitted quietly. "Is that what you want?" Stefan asked, his heart clenching in fear that Sam wouldn't remember him, wouldn't remember that they loved each other.

"Letting you in was the worse decision I ever made, but I don't regret it. I've lost so much, and I don't want to lose anything else, not my memories or the way I feel about you".

Before Stefan could form a response, Damon walked out. "It's done" Damon spoke, running their moment. "Thank you" Sam mumbled, saying a quiet goodbye before walking inside his home.

 


	9. EIGHT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam deals with the aftermath of Vicki's death. Stefan's old friend comes to town and gives Sam some wise words of advice.

SHERIFFS STATION:

Because of everything, Sheriff Forbes had to talk to everyone about the disappearance of Vicki Donovan. Sam hated lying, especially to the woman he considered his surrogate mother, but it had to be done.

The guilt would not go away, it was eating away at Sam each and every moment possible. He felt like he was dying over and over again as the memory haunted him.

Sam walked out of the sheriff's station, meeting Jenna and his siblings who waited patiently. "How'd it go, Sam?" Jenna asked worriedly, hugging her eldest nephew securely. "Not too bad, Liz went easy on me" Sam spotted Stefan Salvatore in the crowd, looking at Sam with worry.

"I'll meet you guys at the car," Jenna noticed Stefan and rose an eyebrow. "I have to make a call to the school anyways" Jenna dragged the two siblings off, Sam and Stefan meeting up with each other.

"You okay?" Stefan questioned. "Liz didn't suspect anything, it's fine" Stefan frowned at Sam's words. "But you're not fine" Sam groaned. "Of course I'm not fine, Stefan. I—" Sam lowered his voice. "I killed her. She deserved better than that" Stefan tried to comfort the boy, but he instinctively jerked away.

"I...I can't keep being selfish. I'm getting the people I love hurt because of me. I can't keep doing this, I'm so sorry, Stef" Sam's eyes were clouded by tears as he walked away, Stefan's matching as they both did so.

SAM'S BEDROOM:

Sam refused to leave his room, nobody could get him out. That is until Elena called Bonnie. Nobody could reach Caroline anyways, but the three girls knew that Bonnie would be the one to install the confidence back into Sam.

Sam groaned when he heard the knock on his door, shoving his face into his pillows. "No!" He whined though it came out as a muffle. He groaned loudly when he heard someone enter his room.

"Leave me here to die!" Sam wailed dramatically. "Can't do that, Pooh-Bear" Sam smiled secretly at the nickname.

The bed sunk slightly, indicating that Bonnie was now next to him. "They called the task force to come take care of me, huh?" Sam lifted his head to see Bonnie looking at him sadly. "Elena and Caroline filled me in since I was with Grams. I'm sorry about Stefan, by the way," Sam looked at her sadly, his bottom lip slightly trembling at the reminder.

"Aww, come here!" Sam let Bonnie's motherly instincts kick in and snuggle him. "You don't need a man to make you happy, you're a badass bitch who can get through anything" The corners of Sam's lips twitched as he fought against the waterfall of tears just waiting for him.

"I just wanna forget about it, distract myself from everything" Bonnie smiled, getting an idea. "Just remember you asked for it" Sam complained at Bonnie got up, the witch shut Sam's window and took one of Sam's pillows and ripped it open, emptying the feathers onto Sam's bed.

"What the hell, Bon!" Bonnie couldn't stop smiling at Sam's childish actions, the old Sam was coming back more each and every day. "Be patient" Bonnie then sat on the bed, pulling Sam to a sitting position.

"I need you to swear to secrecy" Sam snorted. "Bon, I always keep your secrets" He reminded her. "Sammy, swear! I'm not supposed to be showing anyone this" Bonnie pleaded. "I pinkie swear" They locked pinkies.

"There's no fan. No air conditioning" Sam nodded. "Grams just showed me this. You're gonna love it. You ready?" Sam nodded eagerly. Bonnie smiled as she levitated a feather, before levitating even more.

"Holy shit!" Sam laughed, looking around in awe. "It's true, Sammy. All the stories Grams told us while we hid from Care and Elena when they wanted to play dress-up. The stories about the witches, me being a witch, it's true. I'm a witch" Sam nodded. "I believe you. Holy shit!"

SALVATORE BOARDING HOUSE:

Stefan was brooding, slightly. It was his birthday and his best friend Lexi came into town to celebrate like they did every year. But this time she had a lot of questions, mostly regarding Stefan's sort-of ex-boyfriend.

"He'll come around. I'm sure of it. Have you had sex yet?" She pried, extremely excited that Stefan was finally in love again. "No" Lexi gave him a look.

"Sex always works. I mean you'll rock his world so hard with your vamp sex, he'll be yours forever. He won't even care about the whole 'I'm a vampire' thing" Lexi encouraged.

"Yeah, but this isn't about sex or compulsion. He has to want to be with me on his own terms" Stefan explained. "Wow. That sounded all mature and grown-up" She mocked.

Stefan had gone to the bathroom, leaving his phone behind. Lexi thought she heard a 'ding' noise, so she checked it. This was a mistake, however, because she saw his background picture. Sam, Stefan's love, and his twin sister Elena. Stefan had failed to mention to Lexi that Sam shared the same face as his ex Emmett and his sister shared the same face with Emmett's sister Katherine.

"Are you out of your freaking mind!" Stefan was bombarded when he got back. "What?" Lexi turned on Stefan's phone, showing him the picture.

_* I didn't make the manip, found it online. all rights to the creators*_

"You have some serious emotional damage" Lexi gave him a stern look. "No, it's not what you think. Sam, he's not Emmett. Elena's not Katherine, either" Stefan denied.

"Then they're all related, 'cause they can all be twins" Lexi put her hand on her hip, Stefan realizing he was in for a scolding. "I have no desire to tie Sam to Emmett—" Lexi pulled out a picture of Emmett from the 1800s.

"Okay, yeah, sure they look alike, but they aren't the same person" Lexi was interested now, Stefan's eyes held a look they never did even when he talked about Emmett.

"So Sam's not being manipulated to toy with you?" Stefan shook his head. "No. Sam is....he's sarcastic, empathetic, protective of his family, and so loving. When we're together it feels like I can ignore every problem there is. Like if I'm with Sam, everything will be perfect" Lexi smiled widely.

"Oh my gosh, you're in love with him" Realization dawned on him. "Yeah, I guess I am".

MYSTIC GRILL:

After receiving a rather cryptic text from the queen bee herself, Sam decided to go to the wild party. He noticed Stefan playing pool with a blonde girl he didn't recognize.

"Stefan smiles. Alert the media" Sam jumped in surprise, whipping around to see an eerily Damon Salvatore standing behind him. "Well, no offense, but you're not really the person that anyone really wants to smile around unless being compelled" Damon was a bit stunned at Sam's instant response, something he recalled that Emmett was sometimes too shy to do.

"Oh, you're right. Poor Stefan persecuted throughout eternity by his depraved brother; does it get tiring being so righteous?" Sam scoffed slightly, trying to hide the hint of amusement.

"It tends to be triggered by murderous, pesky older brother's" Damon feigned hurt. "Ouch! Well, consider this murderer's feelings get hurt" He mocked the human.

"I don't have time for this, Damon. If you haven't noticed, I don't really like you" And with that, Sam walked off.

***

Sam sat at the bar, drinking his coke as he sulked. "You must be the oh-so-famous Sam Gilbert that Stefan's always talking about" Sam looked over to see the mysterious blonde girl that was playing pool earlier with Stefan.

"I'm Lexi, a 350-year-old vampire. Tequila?" She offered. "No thanks, I'm pretty sure I'm the sober driver tonight" Sam passed up, gesturing to his twin sister illegally drinking along with Bonnie.

"Stefan, he really likes you, you know" Sam furrowed his eyebrows, looking at the blonde in confusion. "What?" She only smiled. "I've known Stefan since he was a young vampire and I've never seen him so in love with someone like he is with you" Sam smiled sadly.

"We...we kinda broke up. I'm a human, he's a vampire, I don't think it could work no matter how hard we try" Lexi frowned. "The love of my life was human. He went through, what I imagine you're going through denial, anger, et cetera. But at the end of the day, love really did conquer all" She took a shot.

"I can't be selfish. I'll get the people I love hurt, I have to protect them before I do things for myself" Sam didn't know how he was pouring his heart out to this girl, it was just the effect that she had on people.

"Take it from someone who's been around a long time, Sam. When it's real, you can't walk away. You deserve to be selfish for once, don't let anyone get in the way of your chance at being happy" Sam smiled. "Thank you, Lexi. You're a good person" Lexi smiled brightly. "I've been told so. I'll see you around, Little Human" Sam laughed to himself as the vampire left with the drinks.

***

Sam was watching his sister and friend drink, making sure they were okay. "Hey" Sam looked over to see Stefan walking over to him. "Hi" Sam looked at his sneakers awkwardly. "I see that you met Lexi" Sam smiled. "She's awesome" Stefan looked at the boy in adoration. "Yeah, she's great. I wanted to talk about—" Sam cut him off, looking outside.

"Stefan, we need to go, like now" Stefan turned around to see what Sam was staring at, police officers outside and a glimpse of Lexi's blonde hair.

Stefan tried to go out the front door, but Sam grabbed his arm. "They've probably got that door locked, come on" Stefan let Sam pull him to the side entryway for Staff-only.

They were horrified to see what happened, Damon stabbing Lexi with a wooden stake, straight to the heart. Stefan immediately grabbed Sam and whisked him away from the scene.

Sam didn't know what to think, Lexi was dead because of Damon. He killed so many people, appeared to have no remorse for his actions. But a little part of him felt like this wasn't the Damon he was supposed to know. Like there was another Damon that was better.


	10. NINE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonnie gets haunted by the witch of her past ancestor. Stefan and Sam continue to try and figure out where their relationship stands. Damon ends up almost killing Bonnie.

MYSTIC FALLS HIGH SCHOOL:

Sam and Caroline met up before class, walking around outside the school. "You and Bon are fighting? Why didn't anyone tell me?" Sam questioned. "You were happy and nobody wanted to ruin it. Besides, it's not that important" Sam gave her a look.

"Care..." Sam and Caroline stopped walking, Sam looked at her with puppy-like eyes. "She's a thief, that's why. I gave her my necklace, and she refuses to give it back. It's a matter of principle" Sam didn't understand how this was even a fight. "Never mind, I don't wanna know" Caroline smiled in triumph.

"Good, now back to more important things like you and Stefan. I saw you two together at the party, are you back together?" Sam sighed, remembering how Damon stabbed Lexi with the stake.

"It's complicated, I don't really know what I should do. I guess I should let fate decide" Caroline rolled her eyes. "All I'm hearing are excuses, Samuel. Fate is bullshit. You have to take control of your own life! If Sam and Dean let fate control them, they would've gone through with the apocalypse. But they didn't, because they took control of their destiny" Caroline voiced, reminding Sam of what Lexi told him. " _When it's real, you can't walk away_ ". As soon as the two have their lives together, there was a chance that it could all turn out great.

PARKING LOT, LATER:

Stefan really liked to mess with Sam's plans. As soon as Sam spotted Stefan standing next to his beloved Jeep, he knew that it wasn't going to be happy news.

"Hey" Sam greeted timidly. "Hi. I got your messages, I'm sorry that I didn't answer them. What I want to tell you can't be said over the phone" Sam felt his heart clench, realizing he had no way to fix what he had the chance to earlier.

"Just say it, Stefan" Sam mumbled, knowing that Stefan could still hear him anyways. "I won't be coming to school anymore. I'm gonna back off and keep my distance. It's the right thing to do" Sam scoffed. "Original, 10/10" He replied dryly. "It's better this way" Sam moved closer to his car, ready to get in.

"Yeah, Stefan. I think I understood the first time" Sam made it clear in his tone that he was irritated. "You're angry. That's good. It'll be easier if you hate me" Stefan then disappeared, leaving Sam alone with Roscoe.

GILBERT RESIDENCE, EVENING:

Sam wasn't excited anymore for girls night(+ Sam). It wasn't like Sam ever liked helping with nails and stuff(though he let Bonnie paint his), but Sam always did enjoy being able to hang out as the four of them. But with the drama around Stefan, Bonnie and Caroline fighting, and Damon trying to steal Bonnie's necklace, it was a tension-filled night.

As they were preparing Dinner(and by they, it usually meant Sam and Bonnie because they were the best cooks out of the four), Sam shot Caroline a look, gesturing to Bonnie. The blonde sighed but listened.

"I'm sorry. There. I said it. If you want the ugly-ass necklace, keep it. It's yours" A guilty look spread across Bonnie's face. "Will you hate me if I tell you I threw it away?" Sam sunk in the background with Elena, the two knew they could never get in between the Caroline vs Bonnie matches.

"I hope we get through the night" Sam mumbled to Elena, who smiled at his words. "You threw it away?" Caroline snapped in annoyance. "I know it sounds crazy, but the necklace was giving me nightmares. I had to get rid of it" Sam was getting too anxious to let this continue, especially when they had more than an hour until the food was done cooking in the oven.

"HEY!" The two girls whipped around to face the only male in the house. "Let's just do manicures, huh? Who brought their kits?" Bonnie said she did, Caroline went to look through Bonnie's bag for it because Bonnie was changing the oven timer.

Caroline was chatting with the two Gilbert's as she shifted through Bonnie's bag until she suddenly became angry. "Why are you such a little liar, Bonnie?" Caroline whipped out the same necklace that Bonnie had thrown out of the car window earlier that day.

"Woah, woah, woah...." Sam's eyes widened, shifting backward from the situation and magical object. "I'm not lying to you, Caroline. I swear" Bonnie exclaimed. "It's true. I watched her throw it into a field!" Caroline still was distrustful. "Then explain it" Caroline demanded, masking hurt with anger.

"Emily" Sam furrowed his eyebrows. "Emily Bennett? She's the ghost haunting you?" Sam remembered the stories Grams told them of Emily Bennett, stories with witches and vampires that Sam always assumed was fake.

"Oh, the ghost has a name now?" Caroline mocked. "Caroline, please" Elena begged her to calm down. "I wonder why she won't leave me alone" Bonnie turned to the two in the loop. "What is going on? Why am I not a part of this conversation? You guys do this to me all the time!" Caroline whined, knowing it was true.

This was getting too stressful for Sam, meaning he officially needed to step in. "I can't talk to you. You don't listen" Sam moved to the middle where Caroline and Bonnie were.

"Bon, you know that's not true. Caroline listens to all of us" Sam stuck up for the blonde. "I'm a witch" Caroline, being herself, couldn't control the snarky and sarcastic comment that flew out of her mouth. "And don't we all know it" Sam really wanted to bang his head against the wall.

"See? That's what I'm talking about. I'm trying to tell you something. You don't even hear it".

MYSTIC FALLS HIGH SCHOOL:

Trying to get the devious plan Damon was making, Stefan brought Damon to the football field to try and connect more with his brother through a sport they use to play as humans.

"What are we doing here?" Damon asked in annoyance. "Bonding. Catch!" With one hand already holding a bottle of liquor, Damon was still able to catch the football.

"Go on, give it a try!" Damon set the bottle down. "Don't forget who taught you how to play this game" Using vampire speed, the two started playing until Stefan tackled Damon and the two fell to the ground.

"That hurt" Damon groaned. "Downside of my diet... getting hit actually hurts a little bit," Stefan told his brother who was still groaning. "I'm impressed, Stefan. Fun with booze and darts, sentimental with football, and now? Starry night" Damon's playful tone immediately dropped as he sat up. "What do you want, Stefan?" Damon questioned.

Stefan sat up, Damon rose his eyebrows at Stefan in anticipation. "It wasn't real, Damon. Our love for Emmett" Damon scoffed in annoyance. "Katherine compelled us and Emmett let her. We didn't have a choice. Took me years to sort that out, to truly understand what they did to us" Stefan failed to convince his older brother.

"Oh, no, Stefan. We are not takin' that on tonight" Damon stood up and started to walk off, Stefan still sitting on the ground. "What do you want with Katherine's crystal?" Damon came to a halt, turning around to face his baby brother. "How do you know about that?" Stefan stood up.

"Come on. You knew Sam would tell me" Stefan had received the text from Sam not too long before he dragged Damon off to the football field. "How do you know it was Katherine's? Emily gave it to her on her last night, along with a bracelet she gave to Emmett. I was with them, and you weren't" Damon's jealousy spiked, realizing it meant he saw Emmett after.

"I was the last one to see Emmett, Damon. He showed me his gold bracelet and Katherine's gift. Now, what do you want with Katherine's crystal?" Damon held back any anger he could at the moment to keep himself composed. "Emmett didn't tell you?" It was Stefan's turn to push Damon's buttons this time.

"We had other things on our mind" Damon vamp-sped inches away from Stefan in a threatening manner. "I could rip your heart out and not think twice about it" He snarled. "I've heard that before" Stefan looked slightly smug.

"I have a bigger surprise, Stefan" Damon started backing up. "I'm gonna get them back"

FELLS CHURCH:

Sam officially hated life. After Caroline and Bonnie made up, they tried to summon Emily which only made the witch possess Bonnie, the witch-ghost was on the move. Sam called Stefan in panic before the two raced down to the ruins together.

Damon had been stabbed in the stomach with a tree branch that made him stuck to the tree. Stefan rushed to help his brother while Sam's eyes widened when he saw his possessed friend.

"Sam, it's nice to finally meet you face-to-face" Sam looked at her in confusion. "It hurts. That's why I feed on people" Sam turned around to see that Stefan had helped Damon. "Stefan" Emily greeted the younger vampire.

"Hello Emily" He greeted timidly, moving to make sure Sam was behind him. "These people don't deserve this. They should never have to know such evil" She looked at Sam. "You should never have to know such evil again" Sam was baffled. "What do you mean evil?"

Meanwhile, a still injured Damon was trying and failing, to help himself up."Emily. I swear to God, I'll make you regret this" He threatened. "I won't let you unleash them into this world" This caught Stefan's attention.

"Them? What part of the story did you leave out, Damon?" Stefan inquired. "What does it matter" Damon huffed.

Ignoring the sibling quarrel, Sam took his chance to get the answer considering Emily somehow liked him. "Emily, tell us what you did" Sam kept his voice calm. "To save her, I had to save them, Sam" Sam recalled the story of the vampire in the church, the true story Stefan debriefed him on.

"Wait, you saved all the vampires in the church?" Sam's eyes widened, realizing that Emily had a point for not wanting to let them out. "With one comes all" Was all Emily answered.

"I don't care about them. I just want Katherine so she can bring Emmett back" Damon finally got himself up. "I knew I shouldn't have believed a single word that comes out of your mouth. This isn't about love, is it? This is about revenge" Stefan grabbed Damon's jacket angrily, Sam wondering how the hell they could have this argument right now when they had no idea what Emily was even doing.

As the two argued, Emily paused what was she was doing and looked at Sam sadly. "I never wanted you to be involved in this again, child. I didn't think he would meet you" Was all Emily said cryptically.

"There is nothing innocent about these people, and don't think for a second it won't happen again. They already know too much, and they'll burn your little grandwitch right next to us when they find out. Trust me!" Damon yelled furiously at Emily.

"Things are different now" Emily spoke up. "Please don't do this" Damon pleaded. "I can't free them. I won't.  _Incendia_!" A ring of fire surrounded Emily, who was in the middle of a pentagram.

Emily ripped off the necklace from Bonnie's neck, holding it to the fire. "No. No, please!" Sam started panicking. "Bonnie!" Stefan used his vampire speed to pull Sam to the side. Damon screamed when it burst into sparks.

The fire left as soon as Emily left Bonnie's body. "Bonnie" The girl looked over at Sam in confusion. Damon clearly pissed at Emily, went and started feeding off of Bonnie's neck. "No!" Stefan rushed over and pulled Damon off of Bonnie.

Sam ran to Bonnie's side and felt her pulse on the side of her neck where Damon didn't feed off of. "She's alive, barely," Sam told Stefan, getting ready to stop the blood flow as best as he could. But, Stefan had a different idea.

"I can save her" He bit his wrist, piercing his skin enough to make it bleed, before making Bonnie drink his blood. "What the fu—" Sam stopped himself when he saw that Bonnie was healing. "Oh".

***

Bonnie and Sam were near Sam's jeep, Bonnie had tears on her face as she was clearly shaken up. "I don't understand, Sam, what happened to me? He attacked me, and his face was like..." Sam stopped her, squeezing her hand comfortingly. "How do you feel? Are you okay? Are you injured anywhere?" Sam rambled as he checked over her again.

"I'm fine. It's just this blood. I don't..." Bonnie stopped when she saw Stefan approaching, the girl tightened her grip on Sam's hand. "I'm not gonna hurt you," Stefan said, though it didn't exactly help.

"Bonnie, I'll explain everything, I promise" Sam realized her gaze was still fixed on Stefan. "He's not gonna hurt you, Bon. I promise, take a deep breath. We'll eat some pie when we get to my house and I'll tell you everything, okay?" Bonnie got into the passenger side of the Jeep. "I'll be right back, okay?" Sam's heart broke at the sight of his scared friend.

Sam wanted to just get in the Jeep and drive off, but he knew he had to talk to Stefan and that's what he did.

"Does this mean she's gonna turn?" Sam worried. "No, she has to die with my blood in her system. So, keep an eye on her tonight and make sure that nothing happens, and once it leaves her system, she'll be fine" Sam sighed slightly in relief.

"Thank you, Stefan. You saved her life. I don't think I can ever repay you for that" Stefan held Sam's hand for a second, savoring the feeling before letting go. "I have to leave, Sam. Too many people have died. Too much has happened" Stefan almost broke down when he saw the hurt in Sam's eyes.

"Coming home was...it was a mistake. I can't be a part of your life anymore" Tears started sliding down Sam's cheeks. "Please, don't go" Sam whispered, but it was too late, Stefan was already gone.

_Two hearts broke that night. Two hearts that deserved better._


	11. TEN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a new vampire on the loose. Stefan and Sam make up, only for Sam to find the connection between him and Emmett that would take away all trust he had in Stefan.

MYSTIC FALLS HIGH SCHOOL:

The whole situation with Stefan was really taking a toll on Sam. It felt like complete and utter agony to know that you love someone who loves you back, but you can't exactly be together.

To distract himself, Sam focused on his sister and Bonnie. The three were in the hallway together, it was too loud for anyone to hear what they were talking about.

"How are you doing?" Sam asked Bonnie as Elena put her stuff away in her locker. "I'm freaked out. Damon attacked me. I could be dead right now. But I'm also grateful" Sam and Elena looked at her in confusion. "Grateful? You almost died, Bon" Sam reminded her.

"To Stefan. He saved my life and...have you seen him?" Sam frowned as Elena put her scarf in her locker. "Not since he told me he couldn't be a part of my life anymore. He probably already left" Elena and Bonnie shared a look.

"He wouldn't leave without saying goodbye, right?" Sam scoffed. "Who knows" Sam aided his sister with putting her books into the locker. "So, what are you gonna do?" Sam sighed at Bonnie's question.

"What am I supposed to do, Bon? I said 'please don't go' and he did. All I can do is wallow and let nature takes its course".

OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL:

Caroline met up with Sam and walked around while talking about Caroline's new crush on Matt. "Oh, look—" Sam looked in the direction Caroline was faced towards, seeing Stefan waiting outside for him. "It's your epic love, go get him tiger" She teased, dragging him close to Stefan before walking away to give them privacy, knowing full well that she'd get all the details later.

Stefan approached him, nobody else was outside so they had complete privacy. The two walked a distance away from the school still and Stefan informed him about what was happening with the mysterious new vampire.

"Are you sure it's not Damon?" Sam questioned, folding his arms over his chest as he remembered what Damon had done to Bonnie. "Well, I'm never sure about Damon, but he's been trying to keep a low profile lately, so it's just doesn't make any sense to me" Stefan explained.

"Damon is tracking them right now" Stefan stood up and looked at him sadly. "I promised you the truth so I wanted to tell you. I want you to be careful" Stefan looked at the boy sadly.

"Well...thanks for telling me that" Sam mumbled, turning to leave. "Sam, wait—" Sam turned back around sharply, sending Stefan a glare. "No, Stefan. You officially said that you couldn't be in my life anymore so don't do this to me...I think I deserve better than that and so do you" Sam snapped before leaving the vampire in the dust.

MYSTIC FALLS HIGH SCHOOL CAREER FAIR:

The career fair was definitely something that Sam wasn't exactly looking forward to. The teenager couldn't even think about his future right now with everything he's dealing with in the present time.

"Still wanna be a detective?" Sam turned around to see Tate standing behind him, a goofy smile on his face. "Still wanna be a vet?" Sam joked back, matching the same goofy smile on his own face.

"I still can't believe you remember that we were seven" Sam rose an eyebrow. "We literally found a dead squirrel on the side of the road and you tried to bring it back to life, I don't think anyone would be able to forget that" The two laughed.

"How are things going, Tate?" The Hispanic boy shrugged in response. "They're going good. How about you? I've heard some of the rumors about you and Stefan, how are you handling that?" Tate worried.

"I think I've come to the conclusion that dating might not be for me, at least right now" Tate looked at him sympathetically. "I think you're giving up too quickly, Sam. I've seen the way Stefan looks at you, everyone has. You shouldn't give up that quickly, especially when I know you love him" Sam tried to deny it, but Tate wouldn't let him. Tate was on the only people besides Caroline who could truly see through his facade, even if they didn't talk much anymore.

"Don't pretend like you don't. It doesn't bother me that you've moved on, the only thing that bothers me is that you aren't letting yourself be happy. You deserve love. Don't let anything or anyone stop you from having it".

Unknowing to them, Stefan had arrived and was listening. A tiny smile appeared on his lips, knowing that Sam really still liked him even if they didn't have much of a chance of being able to stay together.

***

Sam had been standing off in the corner, completely shocked when Stefan showed up and approached him. "What are you doing here?" Sam didn't mean to be rude, he honestly thought that Stefan would be focusing on the new mysterious vampire in town so he could get the hell outta dodge.

"I'm looking out for you" Sam smiled sadly to himself, not knowing how to approach the situation.

The two started talking more, walking around slowly as they did. "You know I wanted to be a doctor before everything happened, but, uh, then I couldn't, 'cause..." Sam cut him off. "The blood?" Stefan laughs a bit awkwardly.

"Yeah. I've dabbled in a bunch of different things, though" Stefan replied. "That sounds...interesting, I think?" Sam commented.

"What about you?" Stefan had previously overheard Sam's conversation with Tate but wanted to hear it from Sam, any moment he could spend with the teenager would be cherished.

"I wanted to be a detective growing up. I loved watching Law and Order SVU and NCIS whenever I went over to my grandma's. I use to always play games with Tate where we pretended we were solving crimes, I loved it" Stefan frowned to himself when he noticed the past tense Sam used.

"What about now?" Sam shrugged. "I'm not sure. After everything that happened with my parents, I stopped caring about my future and tried living in the moment. We saw how well that worked out, though" Before Stefan could reply, Jenna shuffled over and latched onto Sam.

"Hide me!" She exclaimed as quietly as she could. "What's wrong?" Sam panicked, freaking out for his aunt's safety. "The scum Fell has landed" Sam's eyes widened but visibly relaxed slightly knowing it wasn't a dangerous threat, or so he thought.

"Logan's here? I thought he left" Stefan tensed at the mention of the news anchor. "Wait, Logan Fell?" Jenna nodded. Sam noticed the way Stefan was acting and started to put two-and-two together.

The three spotted Logan, the man waved at Jenna and Sam before walking over. "Oh no," Sam mumbled in realization that Logan Fell was most likely the vampire that Stefan was tracking.

"Jenna, are you dodging me?" Logan questioned before looking at Sam. "Look at you, Sam! Have you grown since the last time I saw you?" Sam only fake smiled, grabbing his aunts wrist lightly.

"Jenna, I think I see Jeremy looking at some sketches! Let's go over there!" Sam stated before dragging his aunt off to the side.

"When Logan came to our house, what did he say to you? How was he acting?" Sam bombarded his aunt with questions. "Fake flattery. Stupid, dimpled grin. Puppy dog eyes" Sam frowned. "Jenna, please be serious. What was he saying to you?" He pleaded.

"He was the usual Logan, was charming, a little more manic than usual. He kept trying to convince me to let him in" Jenna noticed the look on Sam's face. "What?" She worried.

"Jenna, listen to me, I'm not kidding. Don't invite him into the house under any circumstances, never invite him in" Before Jenna could question anything, Alaric Saltzman walked over.

"Hey Sam, Jenna" He greeted. "Hi, Mr. Saltzman" Sam said back. "Yeah, I was hoping to see you tonight" Sam's eyes widened at their interaction. "Career night is the new bowling" Alaric laughed at Jenna's awkward joke.

"What the h—" Sam stopped himself. "I'm just gonna go..." Sam spun around, scurrying away from the awkwardness.

***

Sam ended up running into Stefan again who explained the situation with Logan Fell. Apparently, Logan was the new vampire and attacked Damon earlier because he had no idea who turned him and assumed it was the eldest Salvatore brother. They also found out that Logan was killing people because he couldn't control his bloodlust.

"Great, just great" Sam groaned. "Hey—" Stefan grabbed Sam's hands comfortingly. "Damon and I will find him and end all of this, I promise" Stefan soothed.

They stayed like this for a moment until Sam spotted Matt walking outside. "Hey, Matt!" Sam called out, getting the blonde's attention. "Hey" He greeted back. "Have you seen Logan Fell, the news guy?" Sam asked knowing that they had no idea where the newly turned vampire had gone.

"Yeah. He just gave Caroline a ride home" Matt replied before walking off. Sam froze, fear circling around him as the realization that his best friend's life was in danger punched him in the face.

"Sam, hey!" Sam was pulled out of his own mind when Stefan squeezed his hands. "I'll find her, I promise. Just stay here" He ordered before vanishing.

***

Sam hated that he had to wait for Stefan and Damon to save his best friend, but he had no choice. He didn't have a stake on him and he had no idea what Logan was currently capable of. So he had to wait back at the school until Stefan finally showed up.

"Stefan!" Sam sighed in relief when the vampire showed back up at the school almost an hour later. The teenager practically ran over to him, eager to known how his favorite blonde cheerleader was.

"Caroline, where is she? How is she? Did he hurt her?" Sam blurted. "She's ok. I took her home. She was shaken up. But all she knows is Logan attacked her. Nothing else" Sam felt a wave of relief hit him, a few stray tears dropped out of his whiskey-colored eyes.

"And Logan..." Stefan cut him off. "Damon's dealing with him" Even after everything that Damon had done to him and his friends, Sam couldn't help but feel grateful for Damon's actions even if they were for selfish reasons. Sam absentmindedly played with the vervain bracelet that still wrapped around his wrist.

"Thank you, Stefan" The two shared a smile before Sam decided to make a weird decision. "Want me to give you a ride home?" Stefan looked at him in confusion. "I can get home without a car" The vampire recalled. "I know" Stefan then realized that this was how Sam wanted to show his gratitude. "Yeah. That'd be nice".

SALVATORE BOARDING HOUSE:

The two sat in awkward silence all the way to the boarding house, not knowing what to say to each other until Sam pulled into the driveway. The two got out of Sam's Jeep.

"I'm sorry about snapping at you earlier" Sam apologized, filling in the silence. "No, you had every right to say that," Stefan told him. "I know that you think you put all of this bad stuff into my life, but my life already had it. I was buried in it, and I can't deal with any more bad" Sam blurted out, feeling bad that Stefan blamed himself for things he couldn't control.

"Sam, I tried to stay away from you to try and give you a better life but it didn't work. I know it's selfish but I can't stay away from you, no matter how hard I try. Do you know why Samuel Elijah Gilbert? Because I love you" Sam was in complete and utter shock but did not hesitate before pulling Stefan in for a sweet, passionate kiss.

***

The love they had for each other defied everything and anything. They couldn't stay way no matter how hard either tried. That night changed their love story forever. Not only because they made love, but because Sam made a discovery afterword that changed the corse of his life.

As Stefan momentarily left to get something to eat(aka the blood of an animal in the woods), Sam noticed something sticking out of Stefan's journal. Curiosity got the best of him and he went to see what it was.

Sam was not expecting to see two old-pictures, as in from the 1800s, of what looked like both Sam and his twin sister Elena. But it wasn't them, under the pictures it had the names 'Emmett Pierce' and 'Katherine Pierce' inscribed in them.

Sam couldn't believe what he was seeing, Sam and Elena looked just like Emmett and Katherine who existed two hundred years prior. Sam looked exactly like Stefan's dead ex-boyfriend.

Sam didn't even attempt to hide the pictures. Ripping off the bracelet Stefan had given him and placing it right next to the portraits, Sam rushed out of the boarding house and got straight into his jeep before driving away.

UNNAMED ROAD:

Trying to navigate a car down an empty road in the middle of the night while attempting to ignore the tears streaming out of your eyes proved to be rather difficult for Sam Gilbert, but not impossible.

The thoughts of how Stefan lied and hid such a huge secret from him plagued his mind, wondering if Stefan's love for him was even real or was a fabrication in his mind as he replaced Emmett with Sam.

As Sam drove down the highway, a random guy showed up in the road. In a panicked state, Sam swerved as best as he could to miss the man who still ended up bouncing into and off of his Jeep's windshield.

Sam's car ended up flipping upside down, leaving Sam trapped in his own car. The man who he hit got up without a problem and started making his way towards him...


	12. ELEVEN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damon takes Sam on a bit of road trip and the two bond. Sam finds out why he looks like Emmett and why Elena looks like Katherine.

_"Sam. It's Stefan. I know that this picture must have confused you. But I can explain. I need to explain. So, please, when you get this, call me..."._

_***_

UNNAMED ROAD:

_As Sam drove down the highway, a random guy showed up in the road. In a panicked state, Sam swerved as best as he could to miss the man who still ended up bouncing into and off of his Jeep's windshield._

_Sam's car ended up flipping upside down, leaving Sam trapped in his own car. The man who he hit got up without a problem and started making his way towards him..._

Until Damon showed up out of nowhere and scared the guy off, finding the scared teenager stuck in his car.

"Damon?" Sam whispered before whimpering in both fear and pain. "How ya doing in there?" Damon half-joked, hiding the actual concern that he rarely felt anymore. "I can't move, my seat belt...." Sam managed to blurt out through the pain.

"Shh, Shh Shh. Let me get you out of there. I want you to put your hands on the roof. Just like that. You ready? 1, 2, 3" Damon directed, eventually getting Sam out of the car, now holding him.

"Are you okay? Can you stand? Is anything broken?" Damon questioned. Damon was genuinely worried about Sam, not just because he looked like his dead boyfriend. The day he met Sam right before the crash was a day he couldn't forget. A spirited teen boy who would do anything to protect the people he cares for. He didn't want to admit it, but Sam had worked his way into Damon's cold, dead heart.

"I-I...." Sam mumbled to himself, trying to stay awake even with the darkness battling him, tempting him to close his eyes. "Sam, Sam, look at me" Damon urged. "W-we look l-like her" He stuttered before completely passing out.

UNNAMED GEORGIA ROAD:

When Sam woke up, he was in an unknown car with Damon. "Where are we?" He questioned groggily, rubbing his eyes in a motion that reminded Damon of a small child.

"Georgia," Damon told him in a smooth and calm tone, acting as if it wasn't a big deal that they were in a completely different state.

Sam was still trying to process what Damon just told him. Georgia? How long was he asleep for? Why did Damon bring him with? Couldn't he have just left him on the side of the road to die?

"How are you feeling? There are no broken bones. I double checked" Damon asked, interrupting the continuous train of thought that wouldn't leave Sam's mind.

"I...I ran into someone with my jeep, but he just got back up" Sam then looked over at Damon. "Who was he? Was he a vampire?" Sam inquired. "That's what I would like to know, Sammy" Damon answered.

"Oh my god, my Jeep!" Sam spazzed, realizing that his precious baby was damaged and left in the middle of nowhere. "I need to go back, Jenna, Elena, Jeremy, they don't know where I am. They might think I'm..." Sam shuddered at the thought of them thinking that he died. After all, they've dealt with, he never wanted them to be worried about him like that. Yet here they were in that exact situation.

Before either could speak, Sam's phone started to ring. Damon smirked to himself when he saw the caller id. "It's your boyfriend" Damon had to pull over to the side of the road, mostly so Sam wouldn't freak out if he was driving while not paying attention.

" _Samuel's phone"_ Damon was smug as he thought about how pissed off Stefan would be now. " _Where is he? Why do you have his phone? Is he okay?"_ Stefan questioned on the other end of the phone. " _Sam? He's right here. Relax, he's fine"_ Damon spoke calmly, only stressing his brother out further.

 _"Where are you? Let me talk to Sam"_ Stefan demanded. Damon looked over at Sam. "He wants to talk to you" Sam, getting flashes of the pictures that Stefan had, shook his head.

" _Yeah, I don't really think he wants to talk to you right now_ " The smirk on Damon's lips widened as he spoke. " _Damon, I swear to God, if you touch him-"_ Damon interrupted his brother. " _You have a good day. Mm-hmm. Bye-now_ " Damon hung up on his brother.

"I need to go home, Damon, please," Sam asked quietly. "You don't wanna go back right now. Do you? What's the rush? Time-out. Trust me. Your problems are still going to be there when you get home. Look. Step away from your life for five minutes. Five minutes" Damon persuaded.

"Will you keep me safe?" Sam rose an eyebrow as he remembered everything Damon had done in Mystic Falls since he arrived. He didn't even know why he was slightly trusting the older Salvatore brother, the bad one. But something in his subconscious was telling him to.

"Of course, Little Sammy".

BREE'S BAR:

"You brought me to a bar? I'm seventeen, Damon! They're not gonna let me in there!" Sam hissed out Damon as they arrived. "Look at you, all worried. They're gonna let you in, trust me" He cooed before making his way towards the bar.

A woman noticed Damon as soon as they walked in, a bit shocked to see him. "No. No, it can't be. Damon. My honey pie" She ended up kissing Damon, shocking Sam completely. The woman then turned to the rest of the bar.

"Listen up everybody! Here's to the man that broke my heart, crushed my soul, destroyed my life, and ruined any and all chances of happiness!" She announced before pouring shots. "Drink up!" Both herself and Damon drank their shots.

The woman, Bree, turned to Sam at this time. "So, how'd he rope you in?" Sam's eyes widened at the suggestion that he was dating Damon. "What? No-No. I'm not—" Bree cut the adorable kid off.

"Honey, if you're not roped, you're whipped. Either way, just enjoy the ride" She spoke smoothly before drinking more. The two now sat at the bar while starting to talk to the woman.

"I'm Bree" Sam shook her hand awkwardly. "Sam. How do you know Damon?" He inquired curiously. "About twenty years ago, when I was a sweet, young freshman, I met this beautiful man, and I fell in love. And then he told me about his little secret, made me love him more. Because you see, I had a little secret of my own that I was dying to share with somebody" Damon turned to face Sam.

"She's a witch" He failed miserably at whispering. "Changed my world, you know" Damon smirked in pride from her words. "I rocked your world" Sam scrunched his nose in disgust.

"He is good in the sack, isn't he? But mostly he's just a Walk-Away Joe" Bree turned towards Damon, turning serious. "So, what is it that you want?"

LATER:

Sam went outside of the bar to call Jenna, hoping that she wasn't too freaked out. " _Where are you? Why didn't you call?_ " The Young guardian grilled her nephew.

Sam paced back-and-forth as he spoke with her. " _I fell asleep at Caroline's. And this morning I just wanted to get to school, Caroline had stuff for me at her house so I just got ready there. I'm sorry for worrying you, Aunt Jenna"_ Sam mumbled guiltily.

***

Sam's phone started blowing up more and more, courtesy of Stefan. The boy hesitated but finally answered to hopefully get him off of his back.

" _You lied_ " Stefan clinched at the tone of Sam's voice, obviously showing the disappointment and betrayal he felt. " _Just tell me where you are so that I can come to get you_ " He begged.

" _I slept with you, you couldn't even have the decency to tell me that my sister and I look exactly like your ex and his sister from the freaking 1800's_ " Sam, despite being worked up, kept his voice low so nobody could hear.

" _Look, Sam, I'm sorry. Just come home, I can explain_ " Sam shook his head before hanging up. He couldn't believe that he fell for him, someone who lied about something so insane and twisted.

"You okay?" Sam jumped slightly, clearly startled. He turned to see it was just Damon, he sighed to himself when he realized that he probably listened in to the conversation. "I need food".

INSIDE:

The two were now eating, although Sam's priority was more focused on figuring out how the hell him and Elena even looked exactly like Katherine and Emmett. "Let's just say that I'm a descendant of Katherine and Emmett...does that make Elena and I part vampire?" Sam really didn't get the whole vampire thing still, he was completely clueless.

"Vampires can't procreate" Damon grabbed a fry, popping it into his mouth dramatically before actually eating it. "But we love to try" Damon smirked for a moment before continuing. "If you were related it would mean either Katherine or Emmett had a child before they turned" Damon corrected.

"Was Stefan trying to replace Emmett with me?" Sam didn't even have the energy to hide just how upset he was with his--well, he didn't know what they were. Not anymore. Not after what Stefan lied about,  _again_. Was Sam ever allowed to be happy ever?

"Kinda creepy if you ask me" While Damon had been joking, there was a hidden undertone of sincerity that Sam seemed to miss. Bree walked over with another Bourbon for Damon. "Anything for you, kid?" Bree asked. "Captain Coke" Bree didn't react, unlike Damon who was a bit surprised. "Coming right up, kid" As Bree walked away, Damon's attention was focused only on Sam.

"After all the shit that's happened, I think I deserve it" Damon smiled widely. This would be the first time he would genuinely see the teenager loosen up a bit, he hadn't even drunk alcohol around Stefan. This was something he could definitely brag about.

***

Sam had fun with the people at the bar. Since most weren't human, they were easier to be open with. Sam had even made friends with a vampire named Marcel who was basically the King of New Orleans' supernatural population. The guy was kind to him, even told him to visit his city whenever he wanted and he would be kept safe from his guys.

Soon, however, Sam realized that it had been a bit since he saw Damon. The boy went outside to find him, only to find the vampire being doused in gasoline and held hostage by what he assumed was another vampire.

"Damon!" The other vampire turned around sharply. "Please, stop! Damon, he might be a douche but he probably didn't truly mean to upset you. He hasn't done anything" The unnamed vampire only scoffed at the human's words.

"He didn't do anything? He killed my girlfriend. My girlfriend went to visit Stefan, and Damon killed her, got it?" Sam's breath hitched. "Lexi".

_"The love of my life was human. He went through, what I imagine you're going through: denial, anger, et cetera. But at the end of the day, love really did conquer all "._

Sam mustered all the strength that he could as he continued speaking. "Lexi, I met her" The man froze for a second, so Sam took that as his chance to continue. "This won't help the grieving, it will still suck. All this will do is make you as bad as him. Don't do this, you know she wouldn't want you to" The man dropped the gasoline and put away the lighter he was getting close to using. "Fine, but I'm not doing this for you".

LATER, THE CAR:

Sam and Damon were now in the car on the way back to Mystic Falls. "I saved your life back there," Sam told Damon, a smile on his face indicating that he was proud of himself. "I know" Damon muttered as he kept driving.

"Don't you forget it" Sam said before turning to the book that Damon got him for the ride back. "I won't" Damon whispered, too low for Sam to hear.

SALVATORE BOARDING HOUSE:

After getting back to his hometown, Sam reluctantly went to Stefan to try and get some answers, considering the vampire begged for Sam to come over.

"What am I to you, Stefan? A way to forget about him? If so, that's the weirdest rebound ever" Damon, who had been walking by to grab something, laughed at Sam's words before leaving.

Stefan took a deep breath before starting to explain it to Sam, something that would shock and hurt the boy almost as much as his parent's death did. "The first day of school. When we met. It wasn't for the first time" Sam froze for a moment at Stefan's words.

"What? What are you talking about?" Sam face fully showed his confusion. "May 23, 2009" Sam's eyes widened. The date was all too familiar, the date that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

"But that's..." Stefan interrupted him. "That was the day your parents' car went off the bridge" Tears started prickling the boy's whiskey-colored eyes as Stefan continued.

"Every couple of years I come back here, to see Zach and see my home. Last spring, I was out in the woods, by the old Wickery Bridge. And I heard the accident. All of it. I was fast getting there, but not fast enough. The car was already submerged. Your dad was still, he was still conscious. I was able to get to him, but he wouldn't let me help him until I helped you" Sam wasn't going to hold back the tears now. Stefan saved him. And his father, still conscious, was willing to die to give him a chance at life.

"They had no idea how I got out of the car, t-they said it was a miracle" Sam choked down a sob. It wasn't a miracle, Stefan had saved him.

"I went back for them. But it was too late. I couldn't—I couldn't save them. When I pulled you out, I looked at your face. You looked like Emmett. I couldn't believe the resemblance. After that, I spent months making sure that you weren't him. I watched you. I learned everything that I could about you. And I saw that you weren't Emmett. I made sure Elena wasn't Katherine either. And I wanted to leave town, but, Sam, I couldn't. I couldn't leave without knowing you. I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you. I wanted to. But you were so sad" Just by looking at Stefan he realized that there was something missing from the story, something Stefan was hesitating to tell him.

"Why do I look like him, Stefan? Why does Elena look like Katherine? What are you not telling me?" Sam demanded the answer.

"It didn't make any sense to me. You two are Gilbert's. They were Pierce's. But the resemblance was too similar. And then I learned the truth. You two were adopted".

SALVATORE BOARDING HOUSE, LATER:

Sam called his twin sister over who arrived as fast as she could so they could go through this together. "How did you know all of this?" Elena questioned, both siblings holding onto each other for comfort.

"Your birth certificate's are from the city records. It says Elena and Samuel Gilbert, Mystic Falls General. But there's no record of your mother ever being admitted. There's no record of her ever being pregnant, let alone with twins" Sam's breath hitches as he tries to calm down his anxiety.

"What else—what else do you know?" Sam's voice was softer now. "For me to go any further, I would've had to look into the Pierce family, and I couldn't do that. It's too much of a risk. If someone found out I was asking about Katherine and Emmett..." Stefan stopped himself. "It doesn't matter. Elena, you aren't Katherine" He turned towards Sam. "And you are nothing like Emmett. You are the one that I love, Sam".

GILBERT RESIDENCE:

The Gilbert twins went straight home after Stefan's explanation. They thought they were going to go straight to Sam's room to figure this out until they were stopped by Jenna who was clearly upset with Sam.

"I don't set a lot of rules, Sam. Not with you. I trust you to tell me the truth. Where were you? Why would you lie to me about it? I thought that we were closer than that" Jenna shook her head in disappointment.

"Now is not the time you want to talk to him about lies" Elena slightly snapped, feeling bad right after she did. "Don't do that. Don't turn this back on me. I didn't do anything" Jenna walked over to the bottom of the staircase, the twins were on the middle of.

"Are we adopted?" Jenna's facial expression showed that she had known, she knew that they were adopted. "How could you not tell us?" Sam inquired.

"Sam, they asked me not to" This was the confirmation. There was no chance that this wasn't true. They, Sam and Elena, weren't the biological children of Miranda and Grayson...


	13. TWELVE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the mystery vampire starts taunting Sam, the Salvatore's come together to try and capture the creep. Stefan questions his brother on what had happened in Georgia.

SALVATORE BOARDING HOUSE:

Stefan approached his brother who was skimming through the books in the library, tossing them to the side when he couldn't find what he needed in it.

"What are you lookin' for, Damon?" Stefan questioned, looking at the dozens of books scattered all around the floors. "Not your concern" Damon dismissed his little brother.

"No, but putting Sam in harm's way, that is my concern" Stefan folded his arms over his chest, glaring at his brother. Damon, however, didn't even look up from his book as he skimmed through it. "Hm hm. What are you talking about?" Damon played dumb.

"I'm talking about Atlanta" Damon finally looked away from the book and at Stefan. "Oh, yeah. Sam and I had blast" Damon smirked.

"I get it. You're just bitter because one of us gets to be with the person that we love, and the one person who can get Emmett back is just out of reach. Unless there's another way for you to get into that tomb. Is that what Bree said?" Damon slightly scowled.

"You're pathetic when you're fishing" Damon was getting fed up with his little brother, and it was still early in the day. "And you're transparent when you're deflecting" Stefan argued, looking at his brother for any signs of his evil plan.

"Don't you have school?" Damon grabbed another book off the shelf, ignoring his brother now. Stefan glanced back at Damon before leaving the house to go to school.

MYSTIC GRILL:

Bonnie, Elena, and Sam met up at the grill after school to discuss their recent discovery. "I can't believe you're both adopted. I never saw that coming" Bonnie told them, still shocked that they weren't really the children of Miranda and Grayson.

"And it gets weirder. We looked at our birth certificates. It lists Miranda and Grayson Gilbert as our birthparents. None of it makes any sense" Elena ranted. "Which is why you should ask Jenna" Both twins groaned in unison, both upset that Jenna never told them and upset at themselves for overreacting when confronting Jenna.

"First of all, the Elena and Sam that I know would always want the real truth, good or bad. Especially Sam, who would literally create a full-fledged investigation into it" Bonnie exclaimed, trying to fuel them with both energy and confidence to dig into their biological family.

"And second?" Bonnie sighed before speaking. "Sam, you just found out your boyfriend is a—" Bonnie paused, now whispering. "Vampire, so unless your birthparents are alien how bad could it be?" The three laughed at this. Bonnie seemed to know what to say to make them laugh while still trying to help.

Sam's phone dinged. Sam looked down at the test message to see that his outfit for the decade dance was ready for pickup. "My outfits finally ready, I gotta go" Elena smiled at her brother. "Don't worry, we got the bill" She reassured him. Sam smiled back at the two in thanks before leaving the grill to go to his Jeep.

Stefan had paid for Sam's Jeep to get fixed in an apology, although Sam was still on the fence about it.

As he walked towards his Jeep, his phone started to ring. Figuring that it was just Caroline making sure he was going to get his outfit, Sam didn't bother to check the collar-ID before answering.

_"Care, I'm going to get it right now"._

_"I'm not Caroline"._

Sam tensed up, walking faster to his Jeep in fear. He didn't recognize the voice that sounded gruff and mysterious.

_"Who the hell are you? I'm not in the mood for prank calls"._

_"It's not a prank call, Samuel. You hit me with your car. Is that a new one?"_

Sam started looking around only to spot an outline of a man across the street. He couldn't see any distinct facial features, he was basically a shadow. Sam could only make out a hoodie on the man before he quickly got into his car, not even bothering to buckle before starting the car.

_"You got away from me. You won't next time"._

Sam hung up his phone instantly before driving off, not bothering to look back because he knew if he did that he might give the man a chance to attack him. As he drove, he called his sister to warn her and Bonnie before calling Stefan in fear.

SALVATORE BOARDING HOUSE:

Sam was terrified, his hands wouldn't stop shaking due to what he had just been through. "Wh-what does he want with me? And why the hell did he call me first?" Sam looked up at his, well, he didn't know what they were.

Everything that had been happening made it hard for them to figure out what they were now. He loves Stefan, but with everything he's lied about, he's unsure if he can truly trust Stefan.

Stefan walked over and sat next to him on the couch. "That's because we're predators, Sam. We hunt. We stalk. It's often as exciting as the kill. I want you to take this" Stefan placed a familiar watch into the palm of Sam's hand.

Sam immediately rose it higher up so he could see it. "This is Jeremy's pocket-watch...." Sam trailed off, confused on why Stefan had it.

"I took it from Damon, who took it from Logan, who must have taken it from you guys" Stefan explained, though Sam was still comprehending it considering he zoned out mid-conversation. "Why would they want it? It's just a family heirloom" Sam furrowed his eyebrows.

"it's not just a watch. It's a...it's a sort of compass, but it points to vampires" Stefan gently took Sam's hand into his own, showing him how it worked by starting it up. The needle inside the compass immediately spun to point at Stefan.

"Why did my dad have it then?" Stefan smiled slightly at the boy he fell in love with. "Gilberts were one of the founding families, and back in 1864, they were among those who sought to eradicate the vampires. The compass was used to find us" Stefan reminisced.

"Did you know them then?" Stefan nodded. "Yes. I want you to keep this. That way, you'll know if you're ever in danger" Sam only nodded in response.

Stefan's smile never left his lips as he caressed Sam's cheek. The boy's cheeks flushed, a shy smile now appearing on Sam's lips. Stefan's eyes darted to Sam's lips, hesitating before kissing him. Sam was caught off guard for a second but melted back into the kiss also.

Sam couldn't deny his feelings, and wasn't it about time that Sam finally put his needs above everyone else's?

GILBERT RESIDENCE:

It was now the night of the party, Sam and Elena both weren't dressed in their 50's themed outfits. But when they went into the living room together, they noticed Jenna was in a 50's style outfit which meant she was going.

"You're coming to the dance; then?" Sam spoke up, slightly startling his aunt who took a deep breath when she realized it was only her niece and nephew. A smile worked its way to her lips. "Alaric asked me to help chaperone" The twins smiled. They were really happy for her, but there were things that they wanted answers.

Elena took a deep breath before speaking up. "Why didn't you tell us, Jenna?" The young aunt looked slightly startled by the sudden topic change but she knew they would eventually bring it up soon.

"Your mom was gonna do it eventually. I never thought I'd have to" Jenna admitted. "Jenna, if you can, please tell us what you know. Mom and Dad aren't here now and we are so confused" Sam begged, using his puppy-eyes that Jenna could never say no to. The strawberry blonde sighed, knowing full well that the twins would both use their powers to get her to say it anyway.

"Your dad was about to leave the office one night when this girl showed up. She was sixteen, a runaway, and about to give birth. He delivered her babies, twins, and he gave her a place to stay, but a few days later, she disappeared. And there you two were. Your parents were trying so hard to have a baby. I-it just wasn't happening. All Miranda ever wanted was to be a mom" Jenna recalled what her sister told her.

Although she didn't agree with the way they went through with it all, Jenna couldn't deny the immediate love she felt when she first saw the twins. Like newborn babies, they practically radiated innocence and perfection. Jenna couldn't stop her sister and brother-in-law from becoming a parent to those two. After all, Jenna was a teenager at the time too.

"Why were our parents' names on the birth certificate?" Elena's words snapped Jenna out of her memory. "Your dad was a doctor, Elena. He took care of it. They didn't wanna lose you two, so they kept it quiet, told as few people as possible, but if anyone ever wanted proof, they had documentation" Jenna looked over at Sam who had a look like he was deep in thought.

"The girl, do you know anything about her? Did mom and dad know her?" Sam's voice was a bit shaky. Knowing that their biological mom practically ditched them and ran off hurt him more than he would like to admit. He knew that the girl was literally a year younger than the twins were at that time, meaning that she was too young to know how to be a mom. Still, the thought of what could have happened if she had stayed wouldn't leave his mind.

"They didn't know anything else, just her name. Isobel".

SALVATORE BOARDING HOUSE:

Meanwhile, at the Salvatore's, Damon was sitting at a desk in the library as he wrote down the names of the founding families for an unknown reason.

Stefan walked into the library with something hidden behind his back. Stefan had already gotten ready for the 50's dance, wearing the typical 'bad-boy' outfit of the decade. "You got the hair right" Damon commented on his brother's hairstyle.

Stefan didn't respond, dropping a journal on the desk in front of his older brother. "Why are you bringing me dad's journal?" Damon questioned, pretending to hide his distaste when he said 'dad'.

"Cause you were looking for it" Stefan gave his brother a knowing look. "And why would I want it?" Damon scoffed.

"Gee, I don't know, Damon. Maybe you wanna do a little bit of posthumous bonding. Go ahead. Enjoy it. Read it. I have. Nowhere in it does it say anything about Katherine, or the tomb, or how to open it, or how to get your ex-lovers sister to bring your ex-lover back to life" Stefan spoke with a hint of anger.

Damon didn't react to his brother's words and started flipping through the journal. "I'm not surprised. The man could barely spell his own name" Damon commented. "I'm really sorry that it won't be of any help with your diabolical plan, the sequel" The raven-haired vampire smirked maliciously. "You know, I could help you" Damon mentally rolled his icy-blue eyes, irritated with his brother.

"You? Help me? Aw, I don't know. Seems a little unnatural" Damon poked fun at his brother's heroic actions, being one of the only people in town that Stefan hadn't always been that way and once upon a time the roles had been swapped around.

"I'll do anything to get you out of this town, even release Katherine and let her resurrect  _Emmett_ " Saying the name of their ex both put them on edge for different reasons. Damon because he was still in love with the boy who was killed the night they were turned. Stefan, on the other hand, was on edge because he was keeping a secret from his brother, from everybody including Sam, that had to do with Emmett. One that he couldn't tell Damon in order to protect Sam.

"What about the other 26 vampires?" Damon inquired. "No, no, no. They can't come. They have to stay put, but Katherine, I would consider that" Stefan denied.

"What are you doin'? Hmm? What's your angle?" Damon accused his brother of scheming. "Thing about it" Stefan ignored his brother's question. "Why would I trust you?" Damon didn't trust his brother, not with something like this.

"See that's your problem, Damon. You apply all of your shortcomings to everybody else. If history's any indication, there's only one liar among us".

GILBERT RESIDENCE:

Unlike most of the guys going to the dance, Sam wasn't going to do the typical bad boy outfit. Caroline wouldn't let that happen even if he wanted to. Instead, he wore a 50's varsity jacket that was his grandpa's(or adoptive grandpas), jeans, and some sneakers. He didn't feel like going too dressed up for this.

Sam finished putting gel in his hair and styling it, chuckling to himself once he was what he looked like, a literal jock.

As he did so, Sam heard a noise coming from downstairs. The teen poked his head out his door. "Jenna? Lena? Jer?" The boy frowned in suspiciousness. He knew that it wasn't safe, especially with the mysterious vampire roaming around town.

Sam closed his door, locked it, and walked over to his bed where the vampire compass was. And said compass was going wild, spinning out of control. Sam's heart started racing, the teen quickly snatched his phone and hit Stefan's contact to call.

SALVATORE BOARDING HOUSE:

Damon was still sitting at his desk when he heard Stefan's phone going off. The vampire grabbed it, seeing that it was Sam Gilbert calling. The corners of Damon's lips curled upwards at the contact picture his brother had of Sam. It was a simple picture of Sam smiling, but something about it made the elder brother smile.

_"Stefan's phone. How may I help you?"_

GILBERT RESIDENCE:

Sam sighed in relief when Damon picked up. Although it wasn't Stefan, it was still someone who was able to help take down the vampire that was near his house.

_"Damon, where's Stefan?"_

Damon frowned when he heard the urgency and fear in Sam's voice. Maybe it was because he shared the same voice as Emmett, or maybe it was because he didn't hate Sam like he hated most of the Mystic Falls population. But either way, there was something about Sam that made Damon care. And that part of Damon was going wild at the thought of Sam getting hurt.

_"He's on his way, why? What's up?"_

Sam was going down his stairs, clutching a wooden stake in one hand while holding his phone up to his ear in the other hand.

_"Someone's in my house, and I know it's not Stefan"._

Damon's eyes widened at Sam's words, internally remembering how Emmett died. The fear of Emmett's look-alike dying had him freaking out.

_"Stefan will be here soon, I'm on my way. Get out of that house now, don't hang up"._

Sam dropped his phone when he saw the vampire in his house, the man was blocking the exit and smirking deviously at him. Sam's grip on the stake hardened.

"Hello, Sam. Nice to finally talk face-to-face" The man spoke lowly, his voice was the definition of creepy. "Fuck you" Sam spat, his voice wavering as he did so.

The vampire was about to lunge at him but then disappeared. "Sam!" Stefan vamp-sped into the room, the front door was wide open from the vampire escaping.

"Stef!" Sam cried out in relief. Stefan pulled the Gilbert boy into a hug immediately, Sam holding back tears of relief.

LATER:

Damon showed up not too long after Stefan did. The older Salvatore tried to hide his worry for Sam, but Stefan caught what Sam didn't see.

"How'd he get in?" Damon questioned, standing while Sam sat with Stefan on the couch. "I don't know, I've never seen that guy in my life" Sam became defensive.

"Did he say what he wanted?" Damon continued to question the scared teen. "No, he was too busy trying to murder me to tell me his evil plan" Sam snapped back, making Damon slightly smirk.

"And you have no idea who this is?" Stefan jumped in, looking over at his older brother. "No," Damon noticed the look his baby brother was giving him. "Don't look at me like that. I told you we had company" He defended himself.

"Company? More than one?" Sam worried for the safety of his family and friends. "We don't know" Damon sat down on the arm of the chair. "Damon, he was invited in" Damon nodded, understanding what his brother meant. They needed to kill him, tonight if it meant keeping the Gilbert household safe.

"Then we go get him tonight" Damon's eyes trailed over to Sam. "You up for it?" Sam tensed up but nodded. "What do I have to do?" He wasn't about to risk the lives of his siblings and aunt just because he was too chicken to play his part.

"Let your boyfriend take you to dance. We'll see who shows up" Damon explained. "That's a bad idea" Stefan criticized. "Till we get him, this house isn't safe. For anyone who lives in it. It's worth a shot" Damon shot back.

"I'll do it" Stefan looked incredibly anxious, almost more than Sam, while Damon only nodded. Sam, noticing how concerned Stefan was, grabbed his hand and intertwined it with his own. "It's going to be okay, you'll be there, so will Damon".

MYSTIC FALLS HIGH SCHOOL:

Lots of eyes drifted towards Sam and Stefan as they entered the dance with Damon trailing behind them as the third wheel.

Sam noticed his three female best friends and made his way towards them, Damon and Stefan were talking about the plan to take care of the vampire.

"Having fun?" Sam teased the three, noticing their fake smiles. "No, but this took about two hours, so I'm at least staying half of that" Caroline, Elena, and Sam laughed while Bonnie glared at the older Salvatore.

"What's Damon doing here?" The other two girls turned around to see that Bonnie was referring to Damon. "He wanted to come, I can't exactly control him" Sam sighed, looking at his friends with worry on how they would react, especially Caroline.

"So what is this, like, a threesome now, you and the Salvatore brothers?" Caroline teased, though you could tell she hated Damon from not only what she could remember him doing to her but also of the fact that he was trying to sink her ship.

"No, God no" Damon, hearing the conversation, frowned to himself at Sam's disgust. "But he's Stefan's brother, I'm gonna have to learn how to deal with it. Not like I can kill him" Sam sighed dramatically.

"There's a thought" Bonnie hummed, not shifting her glare. "We'll help," Both Caroline and Elena said in unison. The three girls clinked their glasses together. Sam couldn't help but chuckle. His friends were great, no matter what.

***

Sam and Stefan had been talking when Sam noticed that Damon was talking to the three girls and they had walked away angrily from him. Sam's eyebrows furrowed as he made his way over to the lone Salvatore.

"What did you say to them?" Stefan accused. "I was perfectly polite—" Damon noticed Sam and smirked. "Sam, would you like to dance?" Sam pretended to think about it. "I'd rather stab my eye out with a plastic fork" Sam then turned to face his boyfriend. "Stefan, would you like to dance?" Stefan couldn't help but smile at his boyfriend's ability to silence his older brother. "I would love to" Damon rolled his eyes as they walked off, a frown not being able to stay hidden.

***

Stefan and Sam danced together, Sam's arms were wrapped around the back of Stefan's neck while Stefan had his arms around his boyfriend's waist. While dancing, Stefan and Sam were both trying to keep an eye out for the vampire.

"See anything suspicious?" Sam asked quietly, knowing that Stefan could hear him still due to the vampires super hearing. "No, you?" Sam snorted softly, a smile weaving its way onto both boys lips.

"Not unless he's dressed like a greaser" A laugh escaped Stefan's lips when Sam gestured towards the flock of jocks all dressed up like they were from the movie Grease.

"I'm sure he'll show up, seems like the kind of vampire who wants to share his villainous plan before trying anything" Stefan couldn't help but keep smiling. Despite the situation, Sam was bright and trying to really enjoy his time with him at the dance. That's all he wanted for Sam, to be happy.

***

Stefan and Damon were on the lookout for the mysterious vampire, leaving Sam all alone considering that his sister and two best friends had left to go to the grill. Luckily, Sam spotted Tate and the two had begun to talk.

"So...Damon, huh?" Sam looked at his ex in confusion. "What about him?" Tate almost started laughing at Sam's confused face. "Sam, his eyes never leave you, he seems infatuated with you. Are you blind?" Tate teased.

"What? No, ew!" Sam scrunched his nose up in disgust. "He's my boyfriend's brother, that's weird" Tate shook his head, a goofy smile dancing on his lips. "You might want to tell him that, I think he likes you" Sam shook his head in response.

"He doesn't like me like that, I don't like him like that. I'm in love with his brother" Tate rose an eyebrow. "I'm happy for you, Sammy, I really am. Stefan's a good guy. I just don't want you to close yourself off from other opportunities. Just think about it" Tate pulled Sam into a hug before meeting up with his brother and the rest of the football team.

Before Sam had any time to think about it, his phone started ringing. Sam wasn't thinking too much about it until he saw it was a blocked number, it felt like his heart had stopped beating for a second. Sam reluctantly answered it.

_"Hello, Samuel"._

Sam's eyes darted around the room, not seeing either Salvatore brother but seeing a man in all black standing near his baby brother who was serving punch and the punch bowl. A terrified expression found its way onto his face, one he couldn't hide even if he tried.

_"Here's what you're going to do. There's an exit door behind you. You have five seconds. Or your brother dies. I can snap his neck so fast I bet there's not even a witness. Now, start walking"._

Sam didn't hesitate to walk fast to the exit door the man was referring to. There was no way he was going to refuse the man and get his baby brother killed.

 _"I'm leaving, don't hurt him_ ".

_"Keep walking. Through the door"._

Sam looked back for a split second to see the man following him. Sam hung up the phone and ran as fast as he could towards the exit.

Sam finally got to the corridors and a set of doors that were unfortunately locked. Him stopping gave the vampire an advantage to get to him. The vampire grabbed him by his hair, pulling him to his chest. Sam struggled against him, the vampire threw Sam across the room. Sam was luckily able to get up quickly. The vampire sped over and was about to attack but Sam grabbed a pencil that was on the ground and stabbed the vampire in the neck.

This preoccupied the vampire enough for Sam to pull out his stake from his pocket and stabbed the vampire in the stomach, giving the Salvatore brother's enough time to vamp-speed in the room.

"Hey, dickhead" The vampire looked up to see Damon holding a stake, Stefan was by Sam's side right away. "Nobody wants to kill you. We just wanna talk".

***

Noah was tied onto the chair, the pencil still in his neck and Sam's stake still in his stomach. "Why are you doing this?" Stefan growled as Damon ripped the pencil out of the vampire's neck and then stabbed it even further into the same wound, making the vampire scream in pain.

"Because it's fun" Sam glared at the vampire. "Sam, want a turn?" Damon asked, holding out his stake towards the teen. "Gladly" Sam then took the stake and didn't hesitate with stabbing the vampire brutally in his leg.

"What do you want with me, dipshit?" Damon smirked while Stefan looked worried for his boyfriend. "You look like Emmett" All three shared a look. "You knew Emmett?" The vampire laughed.

"Not him, his sister. You two thought you were the only ones Katherine messed with?" Stefan grabbed Sam's arm and backed him away from the vampire.

"Tell me how to get in the tomb. Hmm?" Damon leaned over the vampire. "No" The stake was shoved deeper into his leg.

"The Grimoire" The vampire hissed out, though the stake was shoved deeper into him once again. "Where is it?" The vampire panted. "Check the journal. The journal. Johnathan's journal. Johnathan Gilbert's" He gave in.

"Who else is working with you?" Stefan stepped forward. "Who else is there?" Damon added when the vampire wouldn't answer. "No. You're gonna have to kill me" Both brothers shared a look, Damon rolled his eyes at the vampire's dramatics.

Stefan pulled the stake out of his leg before shoving it into the vampire's chest. While Sam did wince, he didn't feel that bad. After all, the man threatened to kill his baby brother, he had to die. 

Stefan looked over at his boyfriend before pulling him into a hug, both sighing in relief over the fact that they were both okay. Sam didn't miss the look Damon had when he saw them hug. 


	14. THIRTEEN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stefan and Sam try to hide a secret plan from Damon. Sam finds out his connection with Emmett.

GILBERT HOUSEHOLD:

Sam thought the nightmares had stopped, he had been so preoccupied with all the drama in Mystic Falls lately that he was able to have some dreamless nights. This time, however, Sam was thrashing in his bed, unaware that he was doing so as he had a nightmare.

Stefan and Damon, who were on their way to tell Sam the deal they made to get Katherine back, were alerted and vamp-sped to Sam's room as they had thought there was an intruder. After all, it was eleven in the morning on a Saturday and nobody else was at the house.

They were both a bit taken back when they realized Sam was having a nightmare instead of fighting an intruder. Stefan was the first one to snap out of his shock, running over to his boyfriend and cradling him in a comforting manner, softly threading his fingers in the boy's dark hair to soothe him.

Damon couldn't help but be reminded of Emmett even more. They had only witnessed one nightmare that the vampire had gone through, but it was brutal. Katherine had to hold her younger brother and run her fingers through his hair while mumbling words in Bulgarian just to get him to calm down.

After a few more minutes, Stefan was finally able to get the teen to go into a dreamless sleep, taking a breath of relief only to be met with his brother's suspicious gaze.

"Damon..." Stefan started, gently moving off Sam's bed, making sure his boyfriend wasn't startled, before dragging the vampire out of the room.

"What the hell was that?" Damon growled, eyeing his brother angrily. "I had a theory and I think it was just proven" Stefan paused, glancing at the door that led to Sam's bedroom, before looking back at his older brother.

"Elena, she's obviously not Katherine, they're only similar in physical appearance, right? So she'd be what's called a doppelgänger" Damon nodded, not understanding where this was going.

"Sam...he shares too many similarities to Emmett and that nightmare proved it. He showed me his sketchbook once, there was a drawing that was obviously Katherine" Damon frowned. "What are you saying?" He narrowed his eyes at his brother.

"Sam isn't a doppelgänger, I think he's a reincarnation" Damon was now even more motivated to get Katherine back, convinced that she was the key to figuring this out and solving the memory loss of Sam/Emmett. Not to mention, Katherine was a good friend of his back in the 1800s and he wanted everything to go back to the way it used to be, minus Stefan, of course.

GILBERT HOUSEHOLD, LATER:

Stefan ended up staying at the house while Damon left to go do his thing. Stefan informed Sam of his deal with Damon and the plan to betray him.

Sam was weary about this plan after the kindness Damon had shown him lately. But everything else he had done in Mystic Falls, especially to Caroline, he knew the vampire couldn't stay in town if he wanted it to be safe.

Stefan and Sam were still alone at the house and were going through a bunch of boxes of old Gilbert family memorabilia to find whatever it is that would be helpful for Damon if he got his hands on it.

"Are you sure Damon actually believes you? That you're gonna help him?" Sam asked while going through the Gilbert stuff.

"I don't think Damon knows what to believe. Trust isn't something that comes naturally to him" Sam nodded, humming in agreement as he thought to himself.

"I think that everything Damon has done, he's justified it with the reasoning that he was doing it for someone he loved, to bring back Emmett and Katherine" Stefan was grateful that Sam wasn't looking over at him and didn't see the way he flinched when Sam said 'Emmett'.

"There are other ways to get what you want. You don't have to kill people. Damon has no regard for human life. He enjoys inflicting pain on others. For 145 years, every single time that I have let my guard down and let Damon back into my life, he's done something to make me regret that. I'm not going to make that mistake again" Stefan monologued, wishing he could tell Sam his theory but not wanting to confuse him even more if it wasn't true.

"What's gonna happen if he opens that tomb and gets Katherine back? Does he think she'll know how to bring Emmett back to life?" Stefan shrugged despite Sam not being able to see him.

"I think that no matter what Damon promises, a lot of people will die" Sam paused once he saw a picture, exhaling loud enough to capture Stefan's attention. The Salvatore walked over to his side and examined the photo, instantly recognizing the man in the old-time picture.

"That's Johnathan Gilbert" Sam looked back down at the box that had held the picture and was even more puzzled. There was a smaller wooden box inside the cardboard one. Sam opened the box and was even more confused when what appeared to be a muzzle sat inside.

"What the hell is that?" Stefan recognized the device but chose not to say anything due to the fact that he heard Jeremy come home. The youngest Gilbert sibling entered the kitchen where his brother and his brother's boyfriend were.

"What are you guys doing?" Jeremy questioned curiously. "Just looking through some old stuff, Stef's helping me. I was trying to find some old family journal dad had years ago" This caught Jeremy's attention.

Jeremy sat on the kitchen counter. "You mean Johnathan Gilbert's journal?" Sam froze before turning to face his baby brother. "Yeah, you've seen it lately?" Sam rose his eyebrows, genuinely surprised that Jeremy knew anything about it.

"I just did a history report on it" Sam visibly frowned. "Jer, where is it now?" Sam asked. "I gave it to Mr. Saltzman. He wanted to see it" Stefan and Sam shared a look, realizing that their history teacher was immersed in the supernatural world. One more thing to worry about.

GILBERT HOUSEHOLD, EVEN LATER:

Stefan was supposed to show up at the house once he found the journal but he had yet to show up and it was getting close to dinner time, which he was supposed to eat over at Sam's house.

Sam was in his room working on a few homework assignments when he received a text from Elena saying, " _Damon's here, in our kitchen, talking with Jenna and helping cook. WTF?"_

Sam sent her a text to let her know that he'd be right down, not even bothering to clean up the mess he made before running downstairs to find exactly what Elena said was happening.

Damon was in his kitchen, cooking while chatting with Jenna. Poor Elena was stuck at the table with Jenna, visibly relaxing once she saw her brother.

"Hello, Sam" Damon greeted, eyes lingering on Sam for a few moments before going back to cooking. "Hey. Where have you been? We're cooking dinner" Jenna said, smiling in obliviousness. "Is Stefan with you?" Damon inquired as he continued to cook. "He'll be here soon...." Sam trailed off, still completely and utterly puzzled at why Damon would just show up at their house like this.

Elena and Sam made eye contact, sharing the exact same panicked expression as each other. Elena was not in the know about the deal with Damon but she knew that Damon acting like this meant something weird was going on. And it was a matter of time when things went to hell.

***

Sam avoided speaking to Damon as much as possible. Elena helped set the table, trying to aid her brother any way she could in this world-class awkward situation that the world threw at him.

"Where's Stefan, you're loving boyfriend? He's missing family night, which I am enjoying immensely" Damon finally asked when Sam came into the kitchen to grab some silverware.

"I don't know" Sam muttered, continuing to count forks until Damon lightly grabbed his arm, forcing Sam to twist around and face him. "Is it real?" Sam furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What are you talking about?" Damon let go of Sam's arm, moving to the pot on the stove. "This renewed sense of brotherhood" Damon took the spoon out of the pot to taste the sauce. "Can I trust him?" Damon looked at Sam, waiting for an answer.

"Yeah, you can trust him" Sam refused to look at the older Salvatore as he went to go set the silverware up. Damon noticed that Jenna and Elena weren't in the room currently and vamp sped in front of Sam, startling the whiskey-eyed teen.

"Damon! What the—" The raven-haired vampire cut him off. "Can I trust him?" He repeated, looking Sam straight in his eyes. "You can't compel me, Damon. I'm wearing vervain" Damon shook his head at Sam's words.

"I'm not compelling you. I just want you to answer me. Honestly" Sam looked Damon dead in the eyes, lying his ass off to the vampire. "Of course you can" He lied before moving around Damon to continue to set the table.

***

"There was a time when I trusted him more than anyone" Damon spoke, startling the teen who had to take a moment to collect himself before responding back.

"Trust is mutual. It doesn't come instantly, and even when you feel like you can trust someone, it doesn't hurt to be wary" Sam answered honestly, not even thinking before speaking.

"You're smart, Sam. Smarter than people give you credit for" Sam couldn't stop the light flush appearing on his cheeks at the praise.

***

After dinner, Damon and Jeremy sat on the couch playing video games while Jenna, Elena, and Sam were talking in the kitchen. "You know he's ridiculously hot, Sammy" Jenna teased, making Damon smirk although he wasn't facing them. Sam cringed at his aunt's words while Elena couldn't help but laugh.

"Eww, no. He's Stefan's older brother and an asshole" The smirk fell off of Damon's face, he rolled his eyes and continued playing the game with Jeremy.

"But you didn't deny that he was hot..." Sam playfully hit his twin sister, giving her a playful glare. "And I never confirmed it, 'Lena" They were cut off when the doorbell rang. "Stefan's here to save me from this torment" Sam muttered, moving to the front door.

Sam opened it and sighed in relief, not hesitating to pull his boyfriend into a hug. Stefan smiles at this, but his smile soon fell once he noticed Damon who had walked up to the doorway.

Stefan looked at his boyfriend, wondering why his brother was there, but the only answer he had was a shrug. "Well?" The three moved to the porch, talking about the journal that Stefan had gone to 'retrieve'.

"Who took it?" Damon glowered at his brother suspiciously. "I don't know" Stefan admitted truthfully. "You know what, it's that teacher. There's something really off about him" Stefan shook his head.

"No, he doesn't know anything. Somebody got to it right before me" Sam took a deep breath, collecting himself before saying anything. "Who knew it was there, besides him and us?" Stefan's eyes lingered to the window where Jeremy was playing video games on his own. Jenna has disappeared upstairs while Elena was about to leave to meet up with a few friends at the grill.

"Damon, don't!" Damon ignored Sam and Stefan's warnings, walking straight into the living room and plopped himself down on the arm of the couch.

"So...I heard you found a really cool journal from back in the day. Who else did you show it to?" Jeremy glanced at the older Salvatore for a moment. "Huh?" He inquired, puzzled about everyone's obsession with the journal.

"Don't ask questions, just spill" Jeremy just chuckled dryly at Damon's demands. "You're kidding me, right?" Sam sighed before stepping into the conversation, needing to explain more.

"Jer, who else did you tell about Johnathan Gilbert's journal? Besides Mr. Saltzman?" Jeremy didn't understand the intensity of the situation. "Why is everybody so obsessed with that thing, dork?" Sam rolled his eyes at the nickname.

"Just that girl, Anna" Damon made a noise as he remembered Jeremy talking about her. "The hot, weird one?" Jeremy mumbled a 'yeah', not really interested in the conversation.

"Wait, who's Anna?" Stefan questioned, both he and Sam were confused. "That's what I want to find out" Sam's phone started ringing, Bonnie's caller ID appeared along with a picture of them when they were little. Sam excuses himself as he wandered into the other room, knowing that Bonnie was on a date and was probably wanting to ask for advice or something of the sort.

_"Bon, how's the date going? Is he treating you well or do I have to make an appearance?" Bonnie laughed at her friend's words._

_"It's going great. He's a perfect gentleman" She gushed over the phone._

_"Gentleman, huh?" Sam couldn't help but tease her. He was used to helping Caroline with her dating situations and the blonde seemed to rarely attract any 'gentleman'._

_"I know! Boring, huh? I just want to grab him and lay one on him"  Bonnie sighed._

_"Why haven't you?"_

_" 'Cause I'm a chicken"._

_"Bonnie Bennett, you are an amazing girl that doesn't even need a man. As Caroline would say, channel your inner Dean Winchester and show him how badass you are" Bonnie laughed again, knowing Caroline would probably say that._

_"Okay. I'm going to text you later with more details"_.

The two bid goodbye before Sam hung up, going back to the living room to see that his brother and Damon were gone but Stefan was still there.

"Where's Damon and Jeremy?" Sam started to panic at the thought of his brother being around Damon alone. He knew in a way that Damon wouldn't really hurt him but he had no idea after what he did do Bonnie, Caroline, and a lot of others if he would hurt Jeremy.

"Damon left with your brother to track down Jeremy's friend Anna, see if there was anything there" Sam pursed his lips as he became anxious once again, a reoccurring theme for the teen, especially since the accident.

"What if he gets to the journal..." Stefan smiled slyly. "Doesn't matter" He commented before pulling out a stack of papers. "What..." Sam furrowed his eyebrows, puzzled at what the papers were.

"It's a copy of it" Sam didn't unfurrow his eyebrows yet, still wondering how he got them. Stefan, somehow understanding what Sam was thinking, explained further. "Well, Mr. Saltzman made a copy and was kind enough to loan it to me" Sam knew there was more to that but decided not to ask. They were going to get this over with and stop Damon reform unleashing dozens of vampires from the 1800s from a tomb just to get one back.

OLD CEMETERY:

Stefan realized that the answer was buried with his father, Giuseppe Salvatore, so the two went to where his father was buried. Sam knew there was a chance that Damon would figure out what they were doing and would come to kill them.

The grave was far away from the public eye in a private cemetery for the Salvatore's(before they created the family tomb) so they weren't going to be caught. They went as soon as they realized where it was located, meaning it was pitch dark outside.

Sam was the one who held the flashlight at the grave while Stefan did the digging. He understood and respected Stefan's decision to do the digging on his own considering it was his own father.

They didn't talk as Stefan was able to quickly dig a hole to get to his father's grave. They continued this silence until they both easily heard Stefan's shovel hit something that echoed a loud thud.

Stefan looked over at Sam with what he could only describe as apprehension. Sam nodded and smiled with encouragement, giving Stefan the last bit of confidence he needed before using the shovel to scrape off the dirt from the top of the grave.

Stefan then knelt down on the coffin, wiping the rest of the excess dirt off. Sam moved closer to the grave so the flashlight could be more focused. There were a few lantern posts that held fire inside that illuminated light with an orange glow, but it still was hard to see.

Stefan inhaled sharply before he opened the grave. The arms of his father's skeleton were wrapped around a book, a grimoire. Stefan swiftly took the grimoire without breaking his father's bones and closed the lid of the coffin and tried to regain his composure, his forest eyes watery as he remembered his father and how he met his unfortunate demise, something he had yet to explain to Sam.

Stefan pulled himself out of the grave, moving closer to Sam who shined the flashlight on the grimoire, his other hand resting comfortingly on Stefan's shoulder. Stefan then carefully opened the cover of the old book before flipping through the pages to find the spell Damon was looking for.

"Well, what do you know?" Sam and Stefan were startled, turning around to see Damon who snarled at them. He looked genuinely hurt like he honestly thought that Stefan and Sam were on his side.

"This is an interesting turn of events" Damon's gaze was emotionally painful for Sam who felt guilty, unlike Stefan who did not feel any remorse for going behind Damon's back. "I can't let you bring her back. I'm sorry" Stefan spoke, Sam tensing up when he became aware of just how dangerous the situation had become.

"So am I. For thinking for even a second that I could trust you" Stefan didn't buy into Damon's guilt-tripping, recalling when Damon told him he'd never let Stefan live a moment of happiness. "Oh. You're not capable of trust. The fact that you're here means that you read the journal and you were planning on doing this yourself" He couldn't help but retort, keeping Sam slightly behind him while also holding his hand to keep both of them a bit calmer.

"Of course I was going to do it by myself because the only one I can count on is me! You made sure of that many years ago, Stefan. But you..." His harsh gaze focused on Sam who refused to meet it, moving closer to Stefan's side.

"You had me fooled. You made me believe that he was actually on my side" Damon's hurt gaze then turned to one of fury as he turned his head to face his brother again.

"So what are you going to do now? Because if you try and destroy that, I'll rip his heart out" Sam's heart started to beat even further at the threat. "You and I both know that you won't kill him" Stefan's words were focused on the theorized secret that he shared with his older brother earlier that day.

Damon nodded, acting calm before vamp-speeding over to Stefan and Sam, grabbing Sam, and vamp-speeding back to his original spot with Sam in a chokehold.

"I can do one better" Damon bit the wrist of the hand that wasn't holding Sam back hard enough to draw quite a bit of blood and then shoved it into Sam's mouth.

"Give me the book, Stefan, or I'm snapping her neck. And you and I will have a vampire boyfriend again" Damon didn't see it, but Stefan did. He saw how Sam struggled as he started to remember what had happened the past May.

Not being able to breathe triggered one part, but the feeling of the liquid filling his lungs too, that was triggering a lot more.

The look of terror in Sam's eyes made Stefan willing to so anything Damon asked just to get it to stop. "Let him go first, please" Damon finally pulled his wrist away from Sam's mouth.

"The book!" Damon demanded, ignoring Stefan's plead and the racing heartbeat coming from the human he was holding hostage. "I'm not going to give this to you until he's right next to me" Damon scoffed once more.

"Problem is, I no longer trust that you'll give it back!" Stefan's heart broke even more while he continued to see how broken his boyfriend appeared to be.

"You just did the one thing that ensures that I will" Damon didn't say anything, only moving his hands from continuing to choke Sam to wrapping it around his collarbone, still holding him hostage. Sam started gasping for air as he was released, not even trying to pretend the tears weren't falling out of his eyes.

"Okay" Stefan mirrored a similar look of terror as he stepped forward to meet Damon in the middle, placing the book down, backing up a bit before giving Damon a pleading look and held out his hands for when Damon let Sam go.

Damon held the human back for a few moments as he debated what to do before letting him go and vamp-speeding to the book and back, not trying to grab Sam again.

Sam slowly started to move away from Damon before sprinting over to Stefan and almost falling into his arms. Stefan didn't hesitate to pull Sam immediately into a tight embrace.

Sam looked back at Damon for a moment, the vampire couldn't help but feel regretful when he saw how scared he now was of him. But Damon needed Katherine back, she was the key to unlocking Sam's memories as Emmett. He would finally get the love of his life back, hopefully, he would forgive him once he remembered.

Damon watched wistfully as Stefan led Sam out of the woods, not leaving until they were out of eyesight.

GILBERT HOUSEHOLD:

The two returned back to Sam's house, the teen was still shaken up after everything and Stefan knew he had to tell Sam the truth. If he didn't, Damon would and Sam wouldn't be able to ever trust him again.

So that's what he did. When they were in Sam's room, the two sat on his bed and Stefan confessed his theory. He thought Sam was going to be furious or not believe him, but Sam only confirmed the theory when he told Stefan the dreams he had been having since he was ten along with the drawing he did on some sort of autopilot mode.

"Damon believes that getting Katherine back will get your memories back, apparently he spoke to a witch after our conversation" Sam sighed; looking down at his lap while his self-conscious thoughts attacked him. Wondering if Stefan expected him to be just like Emmett, or if he didn't want to be with him anymore after everything Katherine and Emmett had done.

Stefan, understanding what Sam could possibly be thinking, put a finger under Sam's chin, slowly and gently moving Sam's head up so he was now looking at Stefan. He smiled softly at his boyfriend, now caressing both of his cheeks with his hands, still being gentle.

"This doesn't change anything for me, Sam. Even if you used to be Emmett, you aren't anymore. You're Sam Gilbert, the one I love. Nothing will ever change that" Stefan's eyes darted to Sam's lips for a moment before looking back at Sam, almost as if asking permission to kiss him. Sam nodded before the two melted into a soft, comforting kiss. Stefan and Sam then stayed in an embrace, Stefan and Sam both rested their heads against each other for comfort.

GILBERT HOUSEHOLD, LATER:

Stefan made his way downstairs and into the kitchen to grab Sam some aspirin, a bit flustered when he saw Jenna sitting at the dining room table and giving him a look mixed with amusement and curiosity.

"You know you're not staying the night, right?" Jenna narrowed her eyes, Stefan leaned against the doorframe. "I know, we're just going to hang out for a little while if that's okay?" Jenna pretended to think about it before nodding.

"You're lucky I like you. Keep the door open" Stefan nodded in agreement. "You got it. Do you have any aspirin? Sam's got a headache" Jenna nodded, moving over to the cabinets and started to dig through them to get to said aspirin.

Jeremy entered the kitchen while Jenna continued to rummage through the things. "Oh, hey, Stefan" Jeremy greeted, looking around the room before glancing at his aunt. "Where'd she go?" Stefan assumed he meant Elena.

"Elena?" Jenna shook her head, pausing from what she was doing. "He has a friend over" Jenna explained in a teasing tone for Jeremy. "Anna" Jeremy clarified and Jenna handed the aspirin to Stefan.

After reminiscing all day over the past, he realized who Anna was probably. She was one the only vampire who wasn't captured. She was hiding with Emily the entire time, according to said Bennett witch when both brothers asked her if anyone had gotten out before they all attacked.

Stefan thanked Jenna and walked away, walking normally until he got to the top of the staircase and then vamp-sped to Sam's bedroom. It was completely empty and the large window in his room was wide open, meaning Anna kidnapped Sam right after he already dealt with such a traumatic experience.


End file.
